YOSE 


HERBERT  EARL  WILSON 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE 
OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

THE  INDIANS 

THEIR  CUSTOMS,  LEGENDS  AND   BELIEFS 


AND 


THE  STORY  OF  YOSEMITE 

BY 

HERBERT  EARL  WILSON 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS    FROM   PHOTOGRAPHS    BY 
H.  C.   PILLSBURY 


A.  M.  ROBERTSON 

SAN   FRANCISCO,  CALIFORNIA 


MLCCCCXXII 


• 


COPYRIGHT  1922 

BY  A.  M.  ROBERTSON 

SAN  FRANCISCO 


PRINTED  BY  BRUCE  BROUGH  SAN  FRANCISCO 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY  NOTE      9 

INTRODUCTION  TO  MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS 11 

CHAPTER  I.     CREATION 15 

CHAPTER  II.     THE  COMING  OF  THE  INDIAN  TO  YO-SEM-I-TE; 
His  FOOD,  CLOTHING,  DWELLINGS,  AND  INDUSTRIES: 

Acorns 19 

Grasshoppers 24 

•  Clover,  Grasses,  Grass  Seeds,  and  the  Brodeia  ....  24 

Berries  and  Nuts 24 

Fish 25 

Deer 26 

Small  Game,  Mushrooms,  Worms  and  Beetles   .      .      .      .27 

Dwellings 28 

Bedding    . 29 

Sweathouses 29 

Clothing ......'....  30 

Baskets 33 

Weapons r 34 

CHAPTER  III.     His  CUSTOMS,  RELIGIOUS  BELIEFS,  AND  CERE 
MONIES 36 

Division  of  Territory 37 

Commerce 37 

[5] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  III — continued 

Communications 38 

Annual  Feasts 38 

Dances 39 

Hand  Game v  ...  43 

Medicine  Men 44 

Marriage 46 

Widows 47 

Children 48 

Disposal  of  Dead 49 

The  Present  Day  Indian  in  Yo-sem-i-te 51 

CHAPTER   IV.    THE   COMING  OF  THE  WHITE   MAN   TO  YO- 
SEM-I-TE      53 

CHAPTER  V.    THE  STORY  OF  YO-SEM-I-TE 72 

The  Gateway 73 

Bridalveil  Fall 75 

El  Capitan 75 

Ribbon  Fall 76 

The  Valley 77 

Cathedral  Rocks 78 

Cathedral  Spires 78 

The  Three  Brothers 79 

Sentinel  Rock » 79 

Yo-sem-i-te  Fall        .      . 79 

Glacier  Point 80 

Half  Dome 86 

North   Dome,   Basket   Dome,   Washington   Column,   The 

Royal  Arches,  and  Old  Caves          90 

Happy  Isles 93 

Mirror  Lake 94 

Clouds  Rest 96 

CHAPTER  VI.     SUNSET  IN  YO-SEM-I-TE .98 

[6] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VII.     INDIAN  MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS: 

The  Legend  of  Tul-tok-a-na 101 

The  Legend  of  Tul-tok-a-nu-la  and  Tis-sa-ack   ....  102 

The  Legend  of  the  Lost  Arrow 108 

The  Legend  of  Tis-sa-ack 114 

The  Legend  of  Po-ho-no 115 

The  Legend  of  Yo-sem-i-te 116 

The  Legend  of  Pi- wy-ack 118 

The  Legend  of  Loi-yat 120 

The  Legend  of  Thunder  and  Lightning 123 

The  Legend  of  The  Fish  Women 125 

CHAPTER  VIII.     CONCLUSION   .                                                   .  127 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

IT  IS  the  purpose  of  this  little  volume  to  create  and 
foster  in  the  Yosemite  visitor  an  interest  in  that  fast 
dying  race  the  Western  Indian;  in  his  mode  of  life,  his 
customs,  his  religious  beliefs  and  legends,  in  the  days 
before  the  coming  of  the  white  man  sounded  the  death 
knell  of  his  people. 

In  the  compilation  of  the  information  presented  in  the 
following  pages  the  writer  has  supplemented  the  know 
ledge  gained  during  nine  years  of  association  with 
the  Indian  of  California  by  liberal  reference  to  other 
writings  on  Indian  history,  mythology,  and  ethnology, 
notable  among  which  are,  "The  Dawn  of  the  World," 
Professor  C.  Hart  Merriam:  "Indians  of  the  Yosemite," 
Galen  Clark;  "In  the  Heart  of  the  Sierras,"  J.  M. 
Hutchings;  "The  Discovery  of  the  Yosemite,"  Dr.  L.  H. 
Bunnell;  and  "History  of  Fresno  County,"  W.  W. 
Elliot  &  Co. 

The  writer  wishes  to  make  it  clear,  however,  that  this 
is  in  no  sense  to  be  considered  a  scientific  treatise  of  the 
subject;  rather  has  it  been  the  design  to  supply  simply 
written  information  covering  the  different  phases  of 
Indian  life. 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

The  chapter  on  the  Yosemite  Valley  is  included  with 
the  hope  that  it  may  play  some  small  part  in  instilling 
in  the  heart  of  the  reader  an  interest  in  and  a  love  for 
our  National  Park,  and  an  appreciation  of  the  efforts 
of  the  splendid  men  who  have  made  it  possible  as  well 
as  those  who  so  efficiently  administer  its  affairs. 

HERBERT  EARL  WILSON. 
Yosemite,  California, 
February  28,  1922. 


10] 


INTRODUCTION  TO  MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS 

/COUNTLESS  ages  back,  lost  in  the  seas  of  antiq- 
^-^  uity,  thousands  of  years  before  the  Christian  Era, 
the  Indian  people  began — no  one  knows  how.  Did  they 
spring  from  the  soil,  or  migrate,  by  some  aimless  wan 
dering,  across  the  Bering  Strait  from  ancient  Mongolia, 
or  did  they  actually  descend  from  Noah,  after  the  Flood? 
Their  many  centuries  of  known  history  is  full  of  wonder 
ful  happenings. 

California  was  a  mythical  land  of  romance  long  before 
the  white  man  discovered  it.  Somehow  the  tales  of  a 
country  rich  in  sunshine,  fruits  and  gold  crept  out  to  the 
ears  of  explorers,  although  the  tale-bearers  were  un 
known.  California  is  still  a  land  of  romance.  Its  history 
runs  back  through  periods  of  civilization  whose  traditions 
are  picturesquely  fascinating.  Our  thoughts  of  early  days 
are  so  tinted  with  tales  of  the  Dons  and  the  Missions 
that  we  don't  always  realize  that  before  the  Don  the 
redskin  ruled,  and  that  our  whole  state,  once  upon  a 
time,  was  an  Indian  hunting  ground.  The  Indians  who 
fought  and  hunted  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  state  tried,  even  as  we  do  now,  to  account  for 
things.  Where  we  use  science  they  used  imagination,  and 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

out  of  this  effort  were  developed  a  myriad  of  myths  and 
legends. 

These  were  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  more  or  less  religious 
significance,  for  the  Indian  universally  acknowledged  the 
existence  of  a  supreme  power,  who  held  their  fortune  in 
his  hands,  who  answered  prayers  and  punished  wrong 
doing.  So  while  from  border  to  border,  the  length  of  our 
coast,  the  smoke  curled  upward  from  ten  thousand  lodge- 
poles,  the  Indian  roamed,  and  hunted  and  fished,  un 
afraid,  o'er  a  thousand  plains  and  hills,  and  the  wild  fox 
dug  his  hole  unscared,  from  many  a  dusky  breast  went 
up  a  grateful  prayer  to  The  Great  Spirit. 

Of  these  myths  or  legends  the  Yo-sem-i-tes  had  their 
share.  Ethnologists  have  found  the  gathering  of  authen 
tic  information  on  this  subject  a  matter  of  the  greatest 
difficulty.  The  Indians  as  a  rule  regard  their  legends  as 
sacred  and  are  opposed  to  speaking  of  them  to  the  white 
man.  Due  partly  to  this  reluctance,  and  in  part  to  the 
fact  that  the  present  day  Indian  himself  is  but  poorly 
informed  on  the  subject,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  secure 
any  reliable  information  as  to  the  origin  or  meaning  of 
many  of  them.  While  it  is  true  that  a  great  many  of  the 
myths  or  legends  attributed  to  the  Yo-sem-i-tes  have 
some  foundation  in  that  they  are,  or  have  been,  vouched 
for  by  some  apparently  reputable  Indians,  and  have  been 
repeatedly  recounted  with  but  little  variation,  it  is 
equally  true  that  a  number  of  those  told,  or  published, 
are  patently  but  the  bedtime  stories  of  the  mothers  of 
another  age,  designed,  as  are  our  own  of  today,  to  point  a 

[12] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

moral  to  the  younger  generation,  or  the  product  of  a 
vivid  imagination  belonging  to  some  later-day  Indian, 
possessing  also  a  sense  of  humor  and  a  penchant  for 
having  some  fun  at  the  expense  of  his  questioner.  The 
late  Galen  Clark  says  in  his  book,  "Indians  of  the  Yo- 
semite,"  .  .  .  "I  have  known  of  cases  where  'legends' 
would  be  manufactured  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  by 
some  young  Indian  to  satisfy  an  importunate  and  credu 
lous  questioner,  to  the  keen  but  suppressed  amusement  of 
other  Indians  present." 

Many  of  these  legends,  even  those  accepted  as  authen 
tic  by  leading  ethnologists,  have  no  doubt  been  more  or 
less  embellished  in  translation,  and  garbled  by  countless 
repetitions.  Some  of  them  are  conflicting  and  contra 
dictory  to  a  degree.  All  of  them,  however,  are  interesting, 
more  or  less  poetic,  and  serve  the  purpose  of  an  added 
fascination  in  the  objects  or  localities  with  which  they  are 
connected. 


13 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE 
YOSEMITE 


CHAPTER  I 

CREATION 

IT  WAS  the  belief  of  the  Indian  that  in  the  beginning 
the  Coyote-man  made  the  world.  Then  taking  the 
Frog-man  with  him.  he  set  out  on  a  raft  into  the  east. 
When  they  reached  here  the  Coyote-man  told  the  Frog 
man  to  dive  down  and  bring  up  some  earth,  which  he  did. 
From  the  earth  that  the  Frog-man  brought  up  the 
Coyote- man  made  the  land.  Then  from  the  home  of  the 
Coyote-man  and  the  Frog-man  came  other  people,  the 
Lizzard-man,  the  Cougar-man,  the  Fox-man,  the  Fish- 
man,  the  Star-woman,  the  Grizzly-bear-woman,  and 
many  others.  The  Coyote-man  was  a  witch  doctor  of 
great  power,  and  after  he  had  made  the  land  so  that  it 
was  good,  he  decided  to  make  a  perfect  people  to  live  on 
it.  The  Coyote-man  wanted  to  make  these  people  like 
himself,  but  the  Lizzard-man  said  that  it  would  never  do 
to  make  people  with  paws  like  the  Coyote-man  as  they 

[151 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

would  not  have  fingers  with  which  to  take  hold  of  things. 
This  suggestion  made  the  Coyote-man  very  angry  and 
he  jumped  at  the  Lizzard-man  who  ran  and  hid  in  the 
rocks.  Then  they  argued  for  a  long  time  and  the  Coyote- 
man  finally  agreed  that  the  people  should  have  a  hand 
with  five  fingers  like  the  Lizzard-man.  They  then  decided 
that  as  the  world  was  dark  and  cold  there  must  be  light 
and  there  must  be  fire.  So  the  Little-white-footed-mouse 
was  sent  to  a  far  away  land  to  steal  the  fire,  which  he 
succeeded  in  doing.  While  being  pursued  by  the  Valley- 
people  from  whom  he  had  stolen  the  fire  the  Little-white- 
footed-mouse,  afraid  of  being  caught,  hid  the  fire  in  the 
buckeye  and  cedar  trees.  From  there  some  of  the  fire 
shot  up  into  the  sky  and  became  the  sun,  so  there  was 
light  and  heat,  but  some  of  it  remained  in  the  trees,  and 
ever  since  the  people  have  known  that  by  rubbing  the 
sticks  of  the  buckeye  or  cedar  together,  they  could  make 
fire. 

When  the  Coyote-man  had  the  land  all  finished  and 
was  ready  to  make  the  people,  he  went  all  over  the  land 
and  at  each  place  where  he  wished  the  people  to  live,  he 
stuck  into  the  ground  two  sticks.  At  the  same  time  he 
gave  the  places  a  name.  When  he  had  the  sticks  all  put 
out  and  the  places  all  named,  he  turned  the  sticks  into 
men  and  women.  The  Coyote-man  then  told  the  Lizzard- 
man  and  the  others  that  they  must  all  turn  into  animals, 
which  they  all  did.  The  Coyote-man  became  the  coyote, 
and  because  he  had  never  quite  forgiven  the  Lizzard-man 
or  persuading  him  to  make  the  people  with  hands  and 

[161 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

five  fingers,  to  this  day  he  hunts  and.  kills  the  lizzard 
whenever  he  can  find  him.  The  Grizzly-bear-woman  be 
came  the  grizzly  bear  and  carried  with  her  into  her  new 
state  her  fondness  for  acorns.  The  Cougar  man  changed 
into  the  cougar  and  still  possesses  the  power  to  hunt  and 
kill  the  deer  just  as  he  did  before.  The  Fox-man  became 
the  fox  and  his  skill  as  a  hunter  is  just  as  great  as  before. 
The  Frog-man  became  the  frog  and  still  retains  his  fond 
ness  for  jumping  into  the  water.  The  Lizzard-man  be 
came  the  lizzard  and  to  this  day  still  has  the  habit  of 
running  and  hiding  in  the  rocks.  The  Star- woman,  be 
cause  of  her  fondness  for  the  bright  abalone  shells,  was 
changed  into  the  stars.  The  Fish-man  became  a  fish  and 
still  makes  his  home  in  the  water.  And  so  they  all  be 
came  the  animals  and  birds  and  flowers  that  are  around 
us  even  yet. 

When  the  people  that  the  Coyote-man  had  made  woke 
up  and  looked  upon  the  world  they  found  it  good.  They 
learned  by  watching  the  animals  what  articles  were  good 
to  eat.  From  the  grizzly  bear  they  learned  that  the  acorn 
was  food.  From  the  crane  they  learned  to  catch  and  eat 
the  fish.  The  cougar  taught  them  that  the  meat  of  the 
deer,  the  elk,  and  the  antelope  was  to  be  eaten.  They 
gained  wisdom  from  experience,  by  observing  how  the 
animals  and  birds  and  bugs  lived.  They  multiplied  and 
grew  strong  and  built  villages,  even  as  the  ants.  They 
were  happy  and  worshipped  The  Great  Spirit  who  had 
given  them  life,  and  the  sun  which  kept  them  warm.  And 
in  time,  out  of  the  natural  conditions  surrounding  them, 

[17] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

and  the  accumulated  wisdom  of  the  ages,  they  slowly 
evolved  a  system  of  habits  and  customs,  certain  methods 
of  collecting  and  preparing  food,  certain  religious  beliefs, 
and  certain  ideas  of  government. 

All  of  the  people  who  lived  in  the  region  of  what  is 
now  known  as  the  Yosemite  Valley,  were  more  or  less 
related  by  blood  or  intermarriage,  and  their  customs, 
religious  beliefs,  and  characteristics  were  more  or  less 
curiously  intermingled  as  a  result  thereof.  What  is  said 
here  will  be  generally  understood  to  apply  to  all  of  them, 
although  there  were  of  course,  differences,  due,  in  most 
cases,  to  environment.  In  fact,  as  is  true  in  the  case  of 
all  the  Indian  tribes,  their  mode  of  living,  their  food 
supply,  and  even  their  habits  and  customs,  were  the 
outcome  of  the  natural  conditions  surrounding  them  such 
as  climate,  available  food  supply  and  so  on.  From  now  on 
my  story  deals  only  with  that  tribe  of  Indians  who  lived 
in  the  Yosemite  Valley,  and  who  later  came  to  be  known 
as  the'Yo-sem-i-tes. 


[18 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   COMING  OF  THE   INDIAN  TO  YO-SEM-I-TE;   HIS  FOOD, 
CLOTHING,  DWELLINGS,  AND  INDUSTRIES 


*T"^HE  Great  Spirit  gathered  a  band  of  his  favorite 
-•-  children  and  led  them  into  the  mountains  on  a 
long  and  wearisome  [journey  until  they  reached  the 
Valley  now  known  as  Yo-sem-i-te.  Here  The  Great 
Spirit  bade  them  rest  and  make  their  home.  Here  they 
found  food  in  abundance  for  all.  The  streams  were 
swarming  with  fish.  The  meadows  were  thick  in  clover. 
The  trees  and  bushes  gave  them  acorns,  pine-nuts,  fruits 
and  berries,  while  in  the  forests  were  herds  of  deer  and 
other  animals  which  gave  them  meat  and  skins  for  food 
and  clothing.  Here  they  multiplied  and  grew  prosperous 
and  built  their  villages.  They  called  the  valley  Ah-wah- 
nee,  meaning  "a  deep  grassy  valley,"  and  themselves 
Ah-wah-nee-chees,  signifying  "dwellers  in  Ah-wah-nee." 

ACORNS 

The  acorn  from  the  black  oak,  which  grows  in  profusion 
on  the  Valley  floor,  became  the  Indian's  "staff  of  life,  "was 
to  him  what  bread  is  to  the  white  man.  From  it  they 

[19] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

made  mush  and  bread.  The  preparation  of  this  mush  or 
bread  was  a  tedious  process,  requiring  for  its  completion 
some  twelve  or  thirteen  implements.  In  the  fall  when  the 
acorns  were  ripe  they  were  flailed  from  the  trees  with  a 
long  pole,  gathered  into  long  cone-shaped  burden  baskets, 
and  carried  on  the  backs  of  the  squaws  to  the  cache  or 
storehouses.  These  storehouses  were  built  by  sticking 
into  the  ground  five  poles  about  ten  feet  long  and  inter 
lacing  them  with  willow  withes  into  the  form  of  a  basket 
some  six  feet  deep  and  three  feet  in  diameter.  Into  this 
basket  the  acorns  were  poured  and  the  whole  structure 
was  then  covered  with  a  thatching  of  small  pine  boughs 
interlaced  with  needles  pointing  downward  so  as  to  shed 
water  and  to  keep  out  squirrels,  mice  and  birds.  The  top 
was  then  covered  with  a  roof  of  bark  to  make  it  water 
proof. 

When  the  acorns  were  wanted  a  small  hole  was  made 
in  the  bottom  of  the  cache  through  which  they  were 
taken  as  needed.  They  were  then  cracked  open,  the 
kernels  removed  and  laid  out  on  a  platform  or  a  large  flat 
rock  to  dry  in  the  sun.  When  dry  they  were  placed  in  the 
mortars,  which  consisted  of  a  number  of  circular  holes, 
about  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter  and  the  same  in 
depth,  worn  by  constant  grinding  in  the  surface  of  a  flat 
rock.  They  were  then  pounded  and  ground  by  the  squaws 
into  meal  or  flour.  This  was  done  with  a  rock  pestal 
wielded  in  the  hands  with  a  pounding  and  grinding  mo 
tion.  This  was  then  placed  in  a  sifting  basket  and  sifted, 
the  coarse  portion  being  put  back  into  the  mortars  for  a 

[201 


Acorn  Cache  and  Yo-sem-i-te  Squaw.     See  page  22. 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

second  grinding  to  insure  a  flour  of  uniform  fineness. 
When  the  grinding  operation  was  completed  the  flour 
was  placed  in  a  basin  made  in  the  clean  white  sand  of  the 
river  or  lake  shore.  This  basin  was  usually  about  three 
feet  in  diameter  and  quite  shallow.  The  bottom  and  sides 
were  lined  with  ferns  or  flat  cedar  boughs.  Water  was 
then  heated  by  putting  into  the  water  baskets  rocks 
heated  in  the  fire,  and  this  hot  water  poured  very  care 
fully  over  the  flour.  The  water  soaked  through  and  into 
the  sand,  washing  with  it  the  bitter  taste  of  the  acorn. 
This  operation  was  repeated  three  or  four  times  until  all 
the  discoloration  and  tannin  was  leached  from  the  flour, 
which  was  then  removed,  cleansed  of  adhering  particles 
of  sand,  and  placed  in  the  cooking  baskets.  These  baskets 
were  of  willow,  were  about  sixteen  inches  in  diameter  and 
eighteen  inches  deep.  Water  was  then  mixed  with  the 
flour  until  a  sort  of  paste  or  mush  was  formed.  This 
mixture  was  boiled  by  dropping  into  it  hot  stones  which 
were  lifted  from  the  fire  by  means  of  two  sticks  used  in 
the  manner  of  tongs.  This  was  continued  until  the  mush 
was  thoroughly  cooked.  It  was  then  either  eaten  in  that 
form  or  made  into  loaves  of  bread.  This  was  done  by 
placing  the  mush  in  small  baskets  or  moulds  the  size  of 
the  loaf  desired.  These  were  taken  to  the  stream  and, 
while  still  hot,  the  loaves  were  rolled  from  the  moulds 
into  the  water.  This  caused  the  loaf  to  become  hard  and 
so  retain  its  shape.  Bread  was  also  made  from  the  mush 
by  cooking  it  on  flat  rocks  that  had  been  heated  in  the 
fire. 

E23] 


THE    LORE   AND    THE    LURE    OF    THE    YOSEMITE 
GRASSHOPPERS 

Grasshoppers  were  a  favorite  food  of  the  Indian,  being 
regarded  as  a  delicacy.  To  catch  them  a  trench  was  dug 
across  the  center  of  a  meadow  and  a  fire  built  in  the 
trench  into  which  rocks  were  thrown.  After  the  fire  had 
burned  to  glowing  embers  the  Indians  formed  in  line  on 
each  side  of  the  meadow  and  with  the  aid  of  brushes  and 
much  yelling,  drove  the  grasshoppers  into  the  trench, 
where  they  were  automatically  roasted  on  the  hot  coals 
and  rocks.  They  were  then  eaten  in  that  form,  or  crushed 
and  beaten  into  a  paste  and  mixed  with  other  edibles. 
If  desired  for  winter  use  they  were  dried  in  the  sun  and 
stored  away  in  the  cache.  Grasshoppers  were  also  caught 
and  eaten  raw. 

CLOVER  GRASSES,  GRASS  SEEDS,  AND  EDIBLE  ROOTS 

Green  clover  and  grasses  were  eaten  raw;  the  Indian 
simply  grazing  on  the  meadows  as  would  a  horse.  Dried 
grass  seeds  were  gathered  by  shaking  them  from  their 
stems  into  baskets  and  made  into  mush  or  soup.  The 
bulbuous  root  of  the  brodiea,  a  lily-like  plant  that 
abounds  in  the  meadows  and  along  the  streams,  was  also 
used  extensively  as  a  food,  being  prepared  and  eaten 
much  in  the  same  manner  as  the  boiled  domestic  onion  of 
today. 

BERRIES  AND  NUTS 

Many  varieties  of  edible  berries  were  to  be  found  in  the 
Valley.  From  the  berries  of  the  manzanita,  which  grow  in 

[24] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

abundance  on  the  Valley  floor,  a  cider  was  made.  These 
berries  were  also  dried  for  winter  use,  as  were  black 
berries,  raspberries,  or  thimbleberries,  strawberries, 
which,  though  very  small,  are  of  unusually  fine  flavor, 
currants,  and  choke-cherries,  which  if  eaten  raw  are 
everything  that  their  name  implies.  Pine-nuts  were  also 
considered  a  delicacy  and  were  gathered  in  large  quan 
tities  for  winter  use. 

FISH 

The  streams  were  rich  in  fish.  Several  methods  were 
employed  in  their  capture.  One  of  these  was  to  construct 
a  trap  such  as  is  sometimes  employed  by  white  men 
today.  This  was  done  by  building  wing  dams  diagonally 
down  toward  the  middle  of  the  stream  until  the  two  ends 
almost  met,  and  placing  in  the  narrow  outlet  a  long  bas 
ket  made  of  willow  withes  woven  loosely  together  and 
closed  at  the  lower  end,  which  was  raised  above  the 
surface  of  the  water  below  the  dam.  The  fish  were  then 
driven  down  stream  and  into  the  trap  by  the  Indians 
wading  and  flailing  the  water  with  sticks.  Upon  striking 
the  basket  the  fish  were  thrown  into  the  lower  end  and 
out  of  the  water,  where  they  were  easily  caught  and 
killed. 

Another  and  by  far  the  most  effective  method  was  the 
use  of  the  soap-root.  Several  baskets  of  the  bulbuous  root 
of  this  plant,  which  is  found  in  plenty  in  the  meadows 
and  along  the  streams  in  the  higher  elevations,  were 
gathered  and  carried  to  a  stream,  where  they  were  beaten 

[25] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

into  a  pulp  which  was  thrown  into  the  water,  or  rubbed 
on  stones  in  the  stream,  where  it  formed  a  lather  much 
after  the  manner  of  soap.  This  lather  had  a  sort  of  para 
lyzing  effect  on  the  fish,  causing  them  to  rise  to  the  sur 
face  where  they  could  easily  be  scooped  up  into  baskets. 
In  this  manner  large  quantities  of  fish  could  be  taken 
and  it  was  the  method  most  often  employed. 

Fish  were  also  taken  by  the  use  of  hooks  made  of  bone 
and  lines  fashioned  from  the  bark  of  the  milkweed,  with 
spears  made  of  small  poles  and  pointed  with  bone,  or 
by  snaring.  The  latter  was  done  by  forming  a  noose  of  a 
deerskin  thong,  or  milkweed  line,  slipping  it  into  the 
water  and  over  the  fish,  and  giving  a  quick  upward  jerk 
which  tightened  the  noose  about  the  fish  and  threw  him 
from  the  water.  This  method  required  considerable  pa 
tience  and  skill,  and  was  usually  resorted  to  only  as  a 
sport,  or  when  no  other  method  was  available.  The  fish 
were  cooked  by  roasting  on  hot  rocks  or  over  a  bed  of 
coals. 

DEER 

The  deer,  great  herds  of  which  roamed  the  forests  of 
the  Valley  region,  were  an  important  item  in  the  food 
supply.  These  were  hunted  by  the  braves  and  killed  with 
the  bow  and  arrow.  After  the  thorough  cleansing  in  the 
sweat-house,  which  was  intended  to  free  the  hunter  of  all 
bodily  odors  and  which  preceded  all  hunts,  the  braves 
went  out  and  secreted  themselves  on  the  windward  side 
of  the  trails  along  which  the  deer  passed  on  their  way  to 

[26] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

water,  and  shot  them  from  ambush.  Still-hunting,  or 
stalking,  was  also  a  method  much  in  vogue  among  the 
more  skillful  hunters.  In  this  the  brave  often  resorted  to 
the  use  of  a  headgear  made  from  the  headskin  and  horns 
of  a  deer  as  a  means  of  deceiving  the  game  and  enabling 
him  to  approach  to  the  close  range  necessary  for  killing 
with  the  bow  and  arrow.  As  a  substitute  for  the  some 
what  heavy  horns  of  the  deer  the  light  branches  of  the 
dead  manzanita  were  often  used.  When  a  quantity  of 
meat  was  desired  the  drive  method  was  employed.  This 
was  done  by  the  turn-out  of  a  number  of  hunters  who 
formed  in  a  wide  circle  and  closed  in  to  a  central  point 
driving  the  game  before  them.  In  this  manner  they  were 
often  successful  in  killing  a  large  number.  The  meat  was 
cooked  by  roasting  on  hot  rocks  or  in  the  coals  of  the 
fire.  That  not  needed  for  immediate  use  was  cut  into 
strips  and  made  into  jerky  by  drying  it  in  the  sun.  This 
was  stored  for  winter  use  by  hanging  it  on  strings  inside 
the  o-chum.  A  young  brave  never  ate  the  meat  of  the 
first  deer  he  killed,  it  being  their  belief  that  if  he  did  he 
would  never  be  successful  in  killing  another. 

SMALL  GAME,  MUSHROOMS,  WORMS,  AND  BEETLES 

Small  game,  such  as  rabbits,  squirrels,  and  birds,  were 
killed  for  food,  as  well  as  for  their  hides  and  feathers, 
which  were  used  in  the  making  of  arrows,  bedding  and 
clothing,  and  ornaments.  Mushrooms  and  the  fungus 
of  the  oak  were  also  eaten,  as  were  worms,  grubs,  beetles, 
and  the  larvae  of  ants  and  other  insects. 

[27] 


THE    LORE   AND    THE    LURE    OF    THE    YOSEMITE 
DWELLINGS 

It  is  but  natural  to  suppose  that  the  natives  of  the 
forests,  surrounded  as  they  were  by  naught  but  nature 
herself,  unaided  by,  and  untutored  in,  the  mechanical 
and  other  arts  of  civilized  man,  knew  no  other  and  exer 
cised  no  other  guide  in  the  construction  of  their  places  of 
abode  than  the  dictates  of  common  sense  and  the  ap 
pliances  at  hand  would  suggest.  Having  no  brick  or 
mortar,  no  heavy  well-cut  timber  for  a  pier,  and  no 
scantling  for  cross  timbers,  they  drew  upon  mother  earth 
for  the  foundation  and  upon  the  poles  of  the  pine  and 
cedar  for  scaffolding  for  the  framework  of  their  hut. 
They  had  no  boards,  either  rough  or  smoothly  planed, 
and  the  bark  from  the  trees  of  the  forest  furnished  the 
rustic  cover  for  their  ill  constructed  hut,  or  o-chum,  as 
it  was  called. 

These  were  built  by  taking  a  number  of  poles  about 
twelve  feet  long,  placing  their  ends  in  the  ground  around 
an  area  about  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  bringing  them 
together  at  the  top  and  lashing  them  with  the  thongs  of 
the  deer.  The  poles  were  then  covered  with  slabs  of 
cedar  bark.  A  small  hole  was  left  at  the  bottom  for  an 
entrance,  and  another  near  the  top  for  the  escape  of 
smoke.  An  ordinary  sized  o-chum, -owing  to  the  heat- 
reflecting  power  of  its  sloping  walls,  could  be  kept  warm 
with  very  little  fire,  and  was  sufficient  to  house  a  family 
of  six.  In  the  summer  they  required  but  little  shelter  and 
their  camps  were  made  in  the  open,  where  a  pile  of  brush 

[28] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

placed  on  a  scaffolding  made  of  poles,  or  the  boughs  of  a 
tree,  sufficed  to  shelter  them  from  the  sun. 

This  was  the  Indian's  castle — his  palace;  his  luxuries 
were  few  indeed,  and  yet  he  was  king  of  the  forests  and 
monarch  of  all  he  surveyed. 

BEDDING 

Their  underbedding  was  usually  made  from  the  skins 
of  the  larger  animals  such  as  the  deer  and  bear.  Their 
coverings  were  robes  made  from  the  skins  of  the  smaller 
fur  bearing  animals.  These  were  made  by  cutting  the  fur 
into  narrow  strips,  which  were  loosely  twisted  so  as  to 
bring  the  fur  entirely  around  on  the  outside,  and  weav 
ing  them  into  a  warp  made  from  the  tough  bark  of  the 
milkweed.  These  srobes  were  very  warm  and  were  used 
as  clothing  when  traveling  in  cold  weather. 

SWEAT-HOUSES 

The  sweat-houses,  which  were  to  be  found  in  every 
village,  were  similar  in  construction  to  the  o-chum  except 
that  the  top  was  rounded  and  the  entire  structure  coated 
thickly  with  mud.  A  small  opening  was  left  at  the  bottom 
as  an  entrance  and  another  in  the  top  for  the  egress  of 
smoke.  These  houses  were  always  built  near  a  stream  or 
some  body  of  water.  One  of  the  first  steps  in  their  prepa 
rations  for  a  big  hunt  was  a  thorough  sweating  and  cleans 
ing  in  the  sweat-house.  This  was  done  to  free  the  brave 
of  all  bodily  odors  so  that  the  deer  could  not  detect  his 
approach  by  scent.  After  the  sweat-house  had  been 

[29] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

heated  to  a  high  temperature  by  fires  and  hot  rocks  the 
hunter  crawled  inside  and  the  door  was  shut.  There  he 
remained  until  in  a  welter  of  perspiration,  when  the  door 
was  opened  and  he  rushed  out  and  plunged  into  the  icy 
waters  of  the  stream  or  lake.  This  operation  was  repeated 
until  they  were  satisfied  all  bodily  odors  had  been  elimin 
ated.  The  sweat-houses  were  also  resorted  to  as  a  means 
of  treatment  for  various  bodily  ailments. 

CLOTHING 

The  Indian  being  constantly  exposed  to  the  elements 
needed  very  little  clothing.  It  consisted,  in  the  case  of 
the  man,  of  a  breech-cloth  made  of  skins  which  was  worn 
about  the  loins.  For  the  woman  it  took  the  form  of  a 
skirt  which  reached  from  the  waist  to  the  knee.  These 
skirts  were  usually  made  of  dressed  doe-skin,  finished  at 
the  bottom  with  a  slit  fringe,  and  sometimes  decorated 
with  bead  or  shell  ornaments. 

When  on  the  hunt  the  brave  sometimes  wore  a  head 
gear  of  loosely  woven  thongs  of  deerskin  into  which  he 
would  stick  any  feathers  found  on  the  trails.  These 
feathers  were  carried  back  to  camp  to  be  used  in  fashion 
ing  the  elegant  head-dresses  worn  by  the  chiefs  and  head 
men  of  the  tribes.  Beads  of  teeth,  or  shell,  were  worn 
about  the  necks  of  the  women,  as  were  beads  made  of 
adobe  or  clay.  Both  men  and  women  sometimes  wore 
moccasins  made  of  deerskin.  Children  of  both  sexes 
usually  went  about  entirely  naked,  or  wore  clothing 
fashioned  after  that  of  their  parents. 

[30] 


THE    LORE   AND    THE    LURE    OF    THE    YOSEMITE 
BASKETS 

Basket  weaving  was  the  chief  occupation  of  the  squaws 
during  the  time  not  devoted  to  the  collection  and  prepara 
tion  of  food,  or  other  household  duties.  Baskets  were 
made  in  many  forms  and  sizes  to  suit  the  purpose  for 
which  they  were  intended.  The  principal  woods  used  in 
the  weaving  of  these  useful  and  decorative  articles  were 
the  withes  of  the  willow  and  sour-berry  bush,  the  red- 
bud,  and  the  black  fern  root,  the  latter  two  furnishing 
the  natural  red  and  black  which  were  the  dominating 
colors  of  the  designs,  and  which  are  woven  into  the  bas 
kets  even  now.  Many  of  the  designs  on  the  baskets  no 
doubt  have  some  symbolical  meaning  which  the  Indians 
of  today  themselves  do  not  know.  With  the  exception  of 
those  on  the  hood  of  the  baby  basket  where  zigzag  or 
diagonal  stripes  indicate  a  boy,  and  diamonds  a  girl 
baby,  few,  if  any,  of  them  are  known. 

There  being  no  clay  in  the  Valley  from  which  to  make 
cooking  utensils,  baskets  were  also  used  for  this  purpose. 
To  make  a  good  cooking  basket  fourteen  inches  in  dia 
meter  and  twelve  inches  deep  requires  about  six  months. 
The  material  must  all  be  gathered  in  the  proper  season, 
dried,  split  and  cured.  The  fern  root  and  red-bud  must 
then  be  soaked  in  water  until  it  becomes  pliant  before 
the  weaving  may  begin.  When  finished  these  baskets  are 
entirely  waterproof.  The  manner  of  their  use  in  the 
preparation  of  food  has  already  been  described.  Since  the 
introduction  by  the  white  man  of  the  metal  implements 

[33] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

of  civilization,  and  the  adoption  by  the  Indians  of  a  more 
modern  style  of  cooking,  the  demand  for  baskets  has 
practically  ceased,  and  the  industry  of  weaving  them  is 
rapidly  dying  out.  A  few  old  squaws,  however,  who  cling 
to  the  old  ways,  still  make  such  as  they  require  for  their 
own  use,  and  a  few  others  for  sale.  The  comparatively 
high  prices  of  the  latter  are  accounted  for  by  the  long 
hours  of  tedious  toil  involved  in  the  making,  as  compared 
with  the  money  that  could  be  earned  during  the  same 
length  of  time  in  some  less  tiresome  and  more  profitable 
occupation. 

WEAPONS 

The  bow,  which  was  the  principal  weapon  used  by  the 
Indian,  and  which  was  used  both  in  hunting  and  in  war 
fare,  was  made  of  cedar  or  oak,  usually  about  three  feet 
in  length,  two  inches  wide  in  the  center  and  tapering  to 
the  ends,  rounded  on  the  inside  and  covered  with  the 
sinews  of  the  deer.  These  sinews  were  applied  wet  and 
allowed  to  dry  and  contract,  which  gave  to  the  bow 
added  strength  and  elasticity.  The  strings  were  made 
from  the  thongs  of  the  deer,  and  when  not  in  use,  the 
bow  was  unstrung,  thereby  retaining  its  strength  for  a 
longer  period. 

The  arrows  were  made  principally  from  the  wood  of 
the  sour-berry  bush,  which  is  found  in  the  Merced 
Canyon  below  the  Valley.  After  the  bark  was  removed 
and  the  wood  scraped  down  to  size,  it  was  dried  and 
seasoned  in  the  shade,  and  made  straight  by  frequent 

[34] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

rubbing  between  two  hardwood  sticks.  When  ready  for 
the  heads  a  V-shaped  notch  was  cut  in  the  heavy  end 
of  the  shaft  into  which  was  fitted  the  arrowhead  of  ob 
sidian,  or  volcanic  glass,  which  was  bound  on  with  the 
fibre  of  the  milkweed  overlaid  with  a  coating  of  pitch  to 
make  it  more  secure. 

The  making  of  the  arrowheads  was  a  fine  art  requiring 
great  skill  and  patience  and  was  the  especial  business  of 
a  few  of  the  older  men  of  the  tribe.  The  butt  of  the  shaft 
was  fitted  with  the  halves  of  three  feathers  laid  on  length 
wise  and  bound  with  milkweed  fibre.  These  were  supposed 
to  add  to  the  accuracy  of  the  arrow,  as  well  as  to  the 
length  of  its  flight.  On  account  of  the  scarcity  of  suitable 
wood  and  the  difficulty  of  preparing  it,  these  arrows  were 
only  used  in  warfare  and  in  the  hunting  of  larger  game, 
and  were  used  as  often  as  they  could  be  recovered  after 
being  discharged.  Those  used  in  practice  and  in  the 
hunting  of  smaller  game  were  not  fitted  with  heads,  but 
were  merely  pointed  shafts  of  fire  hardened  wood.  The 
obsidian  from  which  the  arrowheads  were  made  was 
obtained  in  commerce  from  the  Mo-no  Indians  in  the 
region  of  Mo-no  Lake. 

The  Indians  also  fashioned  hammers  and  picks  from 
stone  and  from  the  horns  of  deer,  which  they  bound  to 
handles  with  thongs  of  deerskin.  These  hammers  and 
picks  were  used  in  chipping  the  obsidian  to  the  fine  edge 
required  for  arrowheads,  in  the  digging  of  their  grass 
hopper  trenches,  and  other  work  about  the  camps. 


35 


CHAPTER  III 

HIS  CUSTOMS,  RELIGIOUS  BELIEFS,  AND  CEREMONIES 

^  I  ^HEYo-sem-i-tes,  as  is  true  of  nearly  all  Indian  tribes, 
-••  were  of  an  intensely  religious  temperament.  They 
seem  to  have  had  a  fairly  well  defined  idea  of  a  Deity, 
known  as  The  Great  Spirit,  who  looked  after  their  welfare, 
rewarding  virtue  and  punishing  wrong,  and  who  lived  in 
El-o-win,  the  spirit  land  beyond  the  setting  sun.  There 
was  also  the  evil  spirit  lurking  always  to  do  them  harm* 
They  believed  that  when  one  of  their  number  died,  if  he 
had  lived  a  life  pleasing  to  The  Great  Spirit,  he  and  all  of 
his  possessions  were  taken  to  El-o-win  to  be  among  his 
fathers.  But  in  case  the  Indian  had  been  bad  and  had 
lived  in  a  manner  displeasing  to  The  Great  Spirit,  he  was 
sent  back  to  earth  to  live  another  life  in  the  form  of  the 
grizzly  bear.  Thus  we  find  them,  even  in  their  earliest 
history,  subscribing  to  religious  beliefs  amounting,  when 
our  own  are  boiled  down  to  principles,  to  practically  the 
same  thing — the  rewarding  of  right  living  and  the 
punishment  of  wrong. 

Their  dead  were  held  in  great  reverence  and  at  their 

[36] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

annual  mourning  feast,  which  was  held  in  honor  of  the 
dead,  great  quantities  of  blankets,  beads,  baskets  of  the 
very  finest  workmanship,  and  other  goods  were  burned  as 
an  offering  to  their  departed  relatives  and  friends.  It  was 
their  belief  that  these  articles  were  received  and  made 
use  of  in  El-o-win.  Many  of  the  Indians  kept  themselves 
poor  by  yearly  contributing  nearly  everything  they 
owned  to  these  fires. 

They  believed,  because  of  the  hot  and  cold  winds  which 
swirl  about  them,  that  some  of  the  waterfalls  of  the  Val 
ley  were  favorite  abodes  of  the  evil  spirit,  and  that  if 
they  ventured  too  near  they  would  be  drawn  into  the 
falls  and  killed.  This  superstition  exists  among  them  yet. 
The  whirlwinds  were  also  believed  to  contain  evil  spirits. 

DIVISION  OF  TERRITORY 

They  had  well  defined  limits  of  territory,  or  bounda 
ries,  which  had  been  agreed  upon  in  council  by  the  chiefs 
and  headmen  of  the  different  tribes,  and  beyond  which 
no  Indian  dared  go  except  as  a  visitor  or  trader.  These 
boundaries,  however,  did  not  extend  into  the  high 
Sierra,  which  was  held  to  be  common  hunting  ground 
open  to  all  the  tribes. 

COMMERCE 

They  carried  on  a  well  organized  system  of  commerce 
in  which  they  exchanged  articles  with  other  tribes.  In 
this  manner  they  obtained  from  the  Mo-nos  around 
Mo:no  Lake  obsidian  for  use  in  making  arrowheads, 

[371 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

salt  for  domestic  use,  the  larvae  of  beetles  which  were 
considered  a  great  dainty  and  which  were  only  found  on 
the  shores  of  Mo-no  Lake,  and  other  goods  which  were 
not  to  be  found  in  the  Valley ;  giving  in  exchange  articles 
of  food,  skins,  robes,  and  shells.  The  latter  were  obtained 
in  exchange  from  Indians  on  the  plains  to  the  west  and 
used  as  money  by  the  mountain  tribes. 

COMMUNICATIONS 

The  Indian  was  familiar  with  and  practiced  a  rude 
method  of  telegraphy  which  consisted  of  smoke  or  fire 
signals  flashed  from  one  mountain  top  to  another.  In 
this  manner  they  could  readily  communicate  with  each 
other  and  could  spread  important  news  over  a  large 
territory  in  a  remarkably  short  time.  There  were  several 
of  these  signal  stations  at  suitable  points  around  the 
Valley  rim  and  in  time  of  stress  a  watcher  was  on  duty 
day  and  night. 

In  addition  to  the  telegraph  they  practiced  the  foot 
relay  system  of  runners  in  which  they  made  use  of  their 
swiftest  and  strongest  young  men.  These  runners  passing 
at  top  speed  from  village  to  village  could  spread  news 
almost  as  rapidly  as  the  smoke  telegraph,  and  could,  of 
course,  transmit  more  detail  than  was  possible  by  use  of 
the  signal  fires. 

ANNUAL  FEASTS 

Each  year,  usually  during  the  fall  months,  a  great  feats 
was  held  in  the  Valley  in  which  all  of  the  neighboring 

[381 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

tribes  took  part.  When  the  time  for  this  feast  approached 
a  runner  was  sent  out  to  the  other  tribes  bearing  an 
invitation  to  participate.  This  runner  carried  with  him 
a  bundle  of  small  willow  sticks  corresponding  in  number 
to  the  suns  that  must  set  before  the  day  of  the  feast. 
If  his  journey  took  more  than  a  day  one  of  these  sticks 
was  discarded.  Elaborate  preparations  were  made  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  visitors,  and  for  days  before  their 
arrival  the  squaws  were  kept  busy  gathering  and  pre 
paring  food.  The  braves  also  contributed  their  part  to 
the  preparations  by  indulging  in  a  big  hunt  to  supply 
meat  for  the  occasion.  A  feature  of  these  feasts  was  the 
presentation  to  the  visiting  tribes  of  gifts  consisting  of 
bead-work,  blankets,  baskets,  and  other  articles.  These 
gifts,  or  others  of  equal  value,  were  always  returned  to 
the  givers  at  the  next  annual  feast,  together  with  addi 
tional  ones,  which,  in  turn,  must  be  returned  the  follow 
ing  year.  In  case  of  war  between  the  tribes  during  the 
year  intervening  before  the  next  feast  these  presents  were 
kept  as  spoils.  It  was  at  these  feasts  that  the  braves  of 
the  other  tribes  wooed  and  often  won  the  daughters  of 
Ah-wah-nee.  These  feasts  were  also  made  the  occasion  of 
big  dances  and  other  ceremonies. 

DANCES 

Dances  were  all  symbolical  in  character,  of  more  or 
less  religious  significance,  and  were  never  indulged  in 
simply  for  pleasure.  Both  men  and  women  took  part  in 
all  of  them,  the  women  standing  around  shufHing  their 

[39] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

feet,  swaying  their  bodies  and  chanting  a  song,  while  the 
men,  led  by  the  chiefs  and  the  medicine  men,  circled 
around  the  campfire  stamping  their  feet,  whirling  about, 
making  wild  gestures  with  their  arms,  or  with  their  bows 
and  arrows  which  they  sometimes  carried,  and  grunting 
or  joining  in  the  chant  with  the  women. 

The  war  dance  which  was  held  just  prior  to  taking  the 
field  against  an  enemy,  was  by  far  the  most  important  of 
their  dances.  The  Indian  donned  for  this  occasion  his 
finest  and  most  elaborate  regalia,  which  was  then  worn 
into  battle.  This  regalia  was  reserved  for  these  occasions 
alone  and  was  never  brought  out  for  any  other  purpose. 
They  sometimes  painted  their  faces  hideously  with  a 
paint  made  from  a  kind  of  clay  found  along  the  river 
below  the  Valley.  This  was  done  to  make  them  look 
ferocious  and  with  the  hope  of  terrifying  the  enemy,  in 
fact  the  purpose  of  the  war  dance  seems  to  have  been  to 
woYk  the  brave  into  a  sort  of  religious  frenzy,  in  which 
state  he  was  expected  to  go  forth  and  perform  prodigous 
deeds  of  valor  and  strength.  These  dances  were  kept  up 
for  long  periods,  as  soon  as  one  dancer  becoming  exhausted 
another  taking  his  place.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  white  man 
has  ever  seen  a  real  Yo-sem-i-te  war  dance,  the  exhibi 
tions  put  up  by  the  Indians  in  later  years  from  purely 
mercenary  motives  being  the  merest  shams,  very  little 
resembling  the  real  article.  In  fact  the  Indians  are 
universally  opposed  to  telling  the  white  man  anything 
at  all  about  their  old  customs  and  beliefs,  no  matter  of 
how  little  importance  they  may  seem,  and  if  pressed  for 

[40] 


Veil  (or  Pohono)  Fall.     See  page  77. 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

information  on  any  subject,  or  even  for  corroboration  of 
information  received  from  another  source,  will  usually 
lie  most  unmercifully,  calling  on  a  vivid  imagination  to 
concoct  the  most  weird  and  impossible  stories  for  the 
benefit  of  their  questioner.  The  Indians  of  later  years 
especially  derive  a  great  deal  of  quiet  amusement  from 
this  baiting  of  the  whites. 

HAND  GAME 

The  hand  game  seems  to  have  been  the  Indians'  fa 
vorite  amusement,  and  the  annual  feast  was  always  the 
occasion  of  one  of  these  tests  of  skill.  Four  bones  about 
four  inches  long  fashioned  from  the  shank  of  the  deer 
were  used.  Two  of  these  were  wrapped  about  the  center 
with  black  fern  root,  the  other  two  being  left  in  their 
natural  state.  A  fire  was  built,  a  game-keeper  appointed, 
and  the  opposing  teams,  usually  consisting  of  four  or  five 
of  the  best  players  from  a  tribe,  took  seats  on  the  ground 
facing  each  other  from  opposite  sides  of  the  fire,  their 
knees  covered  with  a  robe.  Another  robe  was  spread 
on  the  ground  between  them  on  which  was  placed  the 
stakes,  consisting  of  baskets,  clothing,  bead-work, 
weapons  and  other  articles.  The  game-keeper  was  pro 
vided  with  ten  small  sticks  of  willow  with  which  he  kept 
score.  The  pieces  of  bone  were  then  passed,  under  cover 
of  the  robe,  from  hand  to  hand  or  from  one  to  another 
of  the  players,  who,  while  this  was  being  done,  shouted  at 
the  top  of  their  voices  some  favorite  song.  When  these 
manipulations  were  finished  the  opposing  team  attempted 

[43] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

to  guess  what  hand  the  bones  were  in,  receiving  for  each 
correct  guess  one  of  the  tally  sticks  from  the  game 
keeper.  The  bones  were  then  passed  to  the  other  team 
and  the  process  reversed,  continuing  thus  until  one  team 
was  in  possession  of  all  of  the  ten  tally  sticks.  The  game 
keeper  received  a  stipend  from  each  pot  as  payment  for 
his  services. 

Even  yet  there  is  hardly  a  day  during  the  summer 
months  that  one  cannot  find  this  game  being  played  in 
the  Indian  camp.  It  is  a  favorite  pastime  of  the  children 
who  use  the  small  coins  given  them  by  visitors,  and  on 
the  occasion  of  the  Indian  Field  Day  which  is  held  in  the 
Valley  during  the  fall  months  of  each  year,  and  to  which 
Indians  from  all  over  the  state  flock  by  the  hundreds, 
big  games  are  held,  sometimes  continuing  without  break 
for  three  or  four  days  and  nights,  as  fast  as  one  player 
dropping  out  another  taking  his  place.  At  these  games 
money  is  generally  used,  and  pots  running  into  the  hun 
dreds  of  dollars  are  not  uncommon. 

MEDICINE  MEN 

The  profession  of  medicine  man  was  a  popular  one 
among  the  Indians  and  every  tribe  had  one  or  more  of 
these  fakers.  In  most  cases  their  knowledge  of  even  the 
rudest  forms  of  medical  science  was  very  limited,  al 
though  they  did  sometimes  effect  simple  cures.  They 
nearly  always  combined  the  office  of  healer  with  that  of 
religious  leader,  and  were  thought  to  be  possessed  of 
supernatural  power,  capable  of  communicating  with  the 

[44] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

spirits  of  the  dead.  They  were  held  in  great  respect  by 
the  entire  tribe,  wielding  a  great  influence  over  the 
people  and  acting  in  the  capacity  of  confidential  adviser 
to  the  chief.  However,  their  profession  was  not  without 
its  dangers.  If  a  medicine  man  lost  several  patients  in 
succession  he  was  thought  to  be  in  the  power  of  an  evil 
spirit,  and  was  killed.  In  any  case  where  the  patient 
failed  to  recover  all  fees  were  returned  to  his  relatives. 

When  their  magic  failed  to  exterminate  the  whites, 
and  thus  stop  the  invasion  of  their  country,  they  rapidly 
lost  the  respect  of  their  followers,  and  when  they  were 
powerless  to  combat  the  diseases  which  followed  closely 
on  the  coming  of  the  whites,  their  own  lives  paid  the 
forfeit. 

They  occasionally  made  use  of  medicinal  herbs  in  their 
efforts  to  heal,  but  the  most  common  method  was  to 
scarify  with  obsidian  knives  and  suck  away  the  cause  of 
the  pain.  To  impress  the  patient,  and  the  spectators, 
thus  making  the  treatment  more  effective,  they  often 
put  into  their  mouths  small  stones,  bugs,  bits  of  wood, 
or  other  articles,  which  they  spat  out  with  the  blood. 
The  patient,  thus  convinced  that  the  cause  of  his  pain, 
or  illness,  had  been  removed,  often  made  a  quick  re 
covery. 

In  later  years  when  the  Indians  had  become  more  or 
less  familiar  with  the  white  man's  methods  of  combating 
diseases,  they  resorted  less  and  less  to  their  medicine  men, 
and  the  profession  gradually  died  out. 


[45] 


THE    LORE   AND    THE    LURE    OF    THE    YOSEMITE 
MARRIAGE 

Springtime,  or  when  the  flowers  were  blooming  in  the 
mountains,  was  the  Indian's  time  for  wooing.  Polygamy 
wa!s  common  among  them,  a  man  being  allowed  to  take 
as  many  wives  as  he  chose,  or  could  pay  for.  This  privi 
lege,  however,  did  not  extend  to  the  woman.  Young 
women  were  regarded  as  the  personal  property  of  their 
parents,  were  usually  sold  to  the  highest  eligible  bidder, 
and  the  payment  of  their  price  comprised  the  wedding 
ceremony,  although  the  medicine  man  was  sometimes 
asked  to  be  present.  A  smile  was  all  that  was  necessary 
to  let  the  young  brave  know  that  his  suit  was  favored  and 
the  Indian  maid  had  therefore  to  be  rather  sparing  of 
her  smiles.  After  the  brave  had  settled  his  choice  on 
some  particular  maiden  he  opened  negotiations  for  her 
hand  by  presenting  her  father  with  gifts  of  skins,  robes, 
and  other  goods.  When  these  had  been  offered  in  suf 
ficient  quantity  the  father  gave  his  consent  and  hence 
forth  they  were  considered  man  and  wife.  If  the  match  for 
any  reason  should  be  broken  off  all  preliminary  payments 
were  returned  to  the  giver.  If  successful  in  his  married 
life  the  braves  have  been  known  to  continue  this  presen 
tation  of  gifts  to  their  bride's  father  long  after  their 
marriage.  After  marriage  the  wife  was  the  property  of 
the  man,  to  be  dealt  with  as  he  chose.  She  might  be  sold 
or  gambled  away,  although  this  privilege  was  seldom  if 
ever  exercised.  Instances  of  unfaithfulness  on  the  part 
of  the  woman  were  very  rare.  The  punishment  for  this 

[46] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

was  death.  Wife  beating,  such  as  is  frequently  indulged 
in  by  the  so-called  civilized  man,  was  never  known. 
Death  was  a  much  more  preferable  punishment,  whip 
ping  being  considered  most  humiliating  and  disgraceful. 

WIDOWS 

Upon  the  death  of  a  husband  the  widow  had  her  hair 
all  cut  off.  This  was  burned  with  her  husband's  body 
that  he  might  have  it  with  him  in  El-o-win  as  a  reminder 
of  her.  Thus  short  hair  became  known  as  the  badge  of 
widowhood.  After  the  body  was  burned  its  ashes  were 
mixed  with  the  rosin  of  the  pine  tree  and  this  mixture 
smeared  over  the  hands  and  face  of  the  widow.  This  was 
done  as  a  sign  of  mourning,  and  to  render  her  unattractive 
to  other  men,  thereby  preventing  any  offers  of  remar 
riage  until  after  a  suitable  time  had  elapsed.  Each  year 
a  great  ceremonial  meeting  was  held  at  which  the  medi 
cine  man  himself  washed  these  stains  from  the  face  and 
hands  of  the  widows.  If  the  widow  wished  to  remain 
true  to  the  memory  of  her  departed  husband,  and  still 
feared  offers  of  remarriage,  she  was  privileged  to  apply  a 
new  coating.  This  was  allowed  to  wear  off,  and  as  a 
preventative  of  any  amorous  advances  was  very  effective, 
some  of  them  presenting  a  particularly  hideous  and 
repulsive  appearance.  A  widow  was  independent  in  the 
matter  of  marriage,  but  usually  when  consenting  to 
remarry  was  presented  with  gifts  by  her  new  husband. 


[47] 


THE    LORE   AND    THE    LURE    OF    THE    YOSEMITE 
CHILDREN 

The  life  of  the  Indian  wife  was  one  of  menial  labor  and 
childbearing.  The  latter,   however,   fell  lightly  on  the 
mothers  of  the  tribe.  The  time  for  delivery  arriving,  she 
sought  some  quiet  place  by  the  side  of  a  stream,  some 
times  accompanied  by  a  female  friend,  but  most  fre 
quently  alone.   The  moment  the  child  was  born  she 
bathed  herself  and  her  baby  in  the  stream,  covered  it 
with  strips  of  soft  skins,  strapped  it  in  a  baby  basket, 
and  carried  it  off  on  her  back.  The  babies  were  kept  in 
these  baskets  for  about  a  year  in  order  to  make  them 
grow  straight,  and  to  keep  them  out  of  mischief.  Whip 
ping  children  as  a  punishment  for  disobedience  was  never 
practised,  the  mother  preferring  to  rule  by  kindness  and 
patience.   The  pre-natal   maternal   influence  and   kind 
treatment    during    babyhood    made    the    Indian    child 
naturally    patient   and    obedient    to    parental    control. 
Also,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  home  was  not  cluttered 
with  the  brac-a-brac  of  civilization,  the  baby  was  not 
continually  running  afoul  of  some  forbidden  article  or 
pleasure,  but  was  allowed  to  roam  at  will  about  the  vil 
lages  and  camps  as  would  the  cub  of  some  forest  creature. 
Their  instruction  began  at  an  early  age,  the  girls  being 
taught  the  methods  of  collecting  and  preparing  food,  the 
weaving  of  baskets,  and  other  duties  of  the  woman,  while 
the  boys  were  instructed  in  the  methods  of  hunting, 
fishing,  the  making  of  bows  and  arrows,  and  other  arts 
in  which  the  men  were  expected  to  excel. 

[48] 


THE    LORE   AND    THE    LURE    OF    THE    YOSEMITE 
DISPOSAL  OF  THEIR  DEAD 

Upon  the  death  of  an  Indian  his  body  was  turned  over 
to  a  few  members  of  the  tribe  who  had  been  chosen  by 
his  relatives  to  perform  the  burial  rites.  The  body  was 
sewn  in  skins  and,  after  a  suitable  pile  of  dry  wood  had 
been  collected,  the  body  with  all  his  earthly  possessions, 
together  with  gifts  presented  by  relatives  and  friends, 
was  placed  on  top  of  the  wood,  and  when  all  was  ready 
the  pile  fired  by  one  of  the  assistants.  As  soon  as  the  fire 
was  lighted  the  professional  mourners  would  begin  their 
dance,  circling  round  and  round  the  burning  pile,  accom 
panying  their  weird  contortions  by  the  most  unearth 
ly  wailing  and  howling.  When  one  of  these  became 
exhausted  and  dropped  out  her  place  was  immediately 
taken  by  another,  and  the  dance  kept  up  until  the  whole 
pile  was  consumed.  The  belief  that  by  burning  the  body 
the  spirit  was  more  quickly  released  for  its  journey  to 
El-o-win,  and  therefore  stood  a  much  better  chance  of 
escaping  the  evil  spirits,  who,  upon  the  death  of  an 
Indian  were  believed  to  gather  around  the  dead  body 
awaiting  their  chance  to  capture  the  escaping  spirit  and 
carry  it  away  to  their  own  land  of  darkness  and  misery, 
was  principally  responsible  for  this  practice. 

Galen  Clark  says  in  his  book  "Indians  of  the  Yosemite" 
that:  "These  Indians  believe  that  everything  on  earth, 
both  natural  and  artificial,  is  endowed  with  an  immortal 
spirit,  which  is  indestructible,  and  that  whatever  per 
sonal  property  or  precious  gifts  are  burned,  either  with 

[49] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

the  body  or  in  later  years  for  the  departed  friends' 
benefit,  will  be  received  and  made  use  of  in  the  spirit 
world.  In  recent  years  the  Yosemites  and  other  remnants 
of  tribes  closely  associated  with  them,  have  adopted  the 
custom  of  the  white  people,  and  bury  their  dead.  The 
fine  expensive  blankets,  and  most  beautifully  worked 
baskets,  which  have  been  kept  sacredly  in  hiding  for 
many  years,  to  be  buried  with  the  owner,  are  now  cut 
into  small  fragments  before  being  deposited  in  the  ground 
for  fear  some  white  person  will  desecrate  the  grave  by 
digging  them  up  and  carrying  them  away." 

There  is  also  a  curious  myth  or  legend  regarding  the 
source  of  this  practice  of  burning  the  dead.  It  seems  that 
in  the  beginning  it  was  the  plan  of  Coyote-man,  who  is 
believed  to  have  been  the  creator  of  all  things,  to  have 
the  dead  covered  for  four  days  with  a  blanket,  after 
which  they  would  be  reborn  in  the  prime  of  manhood, 
thus  doing  away  with  the  comparatively  useless  period 
of  childhood,  and  prolonging  existence  indefinitely.  This 
plan  suited  everybody  until  someone  died  just  as  Lark- 
man  was  getting  married.  The  body  was  covered  as 
usual  and  for  a  day  or  two  everything  was  all  right, 
then  obnoxious  odors  began  rising  from  the  body,  and 
the  breeze  wafted  these  into  the  hut  of  Larkman,  who, 
quite  properly  resented  having  his  honeymoon  spoiled 
in  that  way,  and  said  so  in  no  uncertain  terms.  He 
contended  that  the  proper  thing  to  do  was  burn  the  body, 
thus  doing  away  with  the  source  of  the  objectionable 
odors  and  allowing  people  to  enjoy  themselves  in  peace. 

[50] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

The  matter  was  argued  at  some  length,  but  finally  his 
suggestion  was  adopted  and  the  body  burned.  This 
custom  has  been  practiced  ever  since,  though  it  put  an 
effective  stop  to  Coyote-man's  plan  of  having  life  re 
newed  over  and  over. 

THE    PRESENT   DAY   INDIAN   IN   YOSEMITE 

The  tourist  who  visits  the  Indian  camp  in  Yosemite 
expecting  to  find  a  village  patterned  after  those  of  long 
ago  is  doomed  to  disappointment.  The  encroaching 
civilization  of  the  white  man  has  pushed  all  of  that  into 
the  background,  or  entirely  into  the  discard.  The  present 
day  Indian  wears  the  garb  of  the  white  man,  cheap  and 
dirty  though  it  usually  is.  As  a  rule  he  eats  the  food  of 
the  white  man,  reverting  to  his  acorn  bread  and  other 
primitive  dishes  only  on  occasion  of  feast,  and  as  a  sort 
of  memoriam  to  the  good  old  days  that  are  gone.  The 
younger  generation  are  being  still  further  trained  in  the 
ways  of  the  white  man  by  attendance  at  his  schools.  The 
younger  generation  will  usually  be  found  to  be  neatly 
and  cleanly,  though  more  often,  cheaply  dressed,  and 
living  in  clean  if  poor  surroundings.  The  men  who  spend 
their  summers  in  the  Valley  are  employed  by  the  govern 
ment  as  laborers  on  the  trails  and  roads,  as  guides  and 
teamsters,  and  some  of  them  on  other  work  for  which 
special  training  has  fitted  them.  Some  of  the  women  are 
employed  at  the  hotels  as  kitchen  help  and  chamber 
maids. 

The  Indians  deep  in  their  hearts  still  harbor  a  resent- 

[51] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

ment  against  the  whites,  although  each  year  they  receive 
many  visitors  to  their  camps  with  seeming  indifference. 
It  is  well  to  be  sincere  in  dealing  with  the  Indians  as  they 
have  an  intuitive  understanding  of  and  a  wholesome 
contempt  for  two-facedness.  The  old  supposition,  or 
saying,  that  an  Indian  has  no  place  in  his  heart  for 
gratitude  could  not  be  more  untrue.  They  are  appreciative 
of  favors  and  quick  to  reciprocate  a  kindness.  It  takes  a 
long  time,  a  great  deal  of  diplomacy  and  tact,  coupled 
with  at  least  a  little  understanding  of  Indian  character, 
to  establish  yourself  on  terms  of  intimate  friendship 
with  the  Indian,  and  always  there  are  hidden  recesses  in 
his  heart  to  which  the  white  man  will  never  be  admitted. 
The  traditional  honesty  of  their  race  is  upheld  by  the 
present  day  Indians,  although  there  are,  of  course,  ex 
ceptions.  Occasionally  one  will  steal  from  a  white  man, 
occasionally  from  another  Indian  of  his  own  tribe,  but 
more  often,  through  a  queer  feeling  of  jealousy  of  pos 
session,  from  a  member  of  another  tribe.  There  are  at 
present  making  the  Valley  their  summer  home  very  few 
descendants  of  the  original  Ah-wah-nee-chees  or  Yo- 
sem-i-tes,  most  of  them  being  of  mixed  origin,  or  half 
breeds.  Most  of  them  will,  when  they  can  procure  the 
necessary  liquor,  get  drunk,  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  them 
gamble,  and  occasionally  one  beats  his  wife  or  engages 
in  a  quarrel  or  fight  with  some  of  his  neighbors.  But  they 
are  in  the  main  a  quiet,  peaceful,  and  law-abiding  people, 
preferring  to  be  left  alone  to  work  out  their  own  salva 
tion  along  such  lines  as  they  themselves  may  choose. 

[52] 


CHAPTER  4 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN  TO  YO-SEM-I-TE 

HERE  in  the  valley  of  Yosemite  there  dwelt  in  peace 
and  plenty  the  people  of  Te-na-ya.  They  went  about 
their  quiet  lives  happy  and  contented.  They  were  never 
visited  except  by  members  of  some  neighboring  tribes, 
and  then  only  on  the  occasion  of  their  annual  feast.  They 
had  few  wars  and  these  with  their  bitterest  enemies. 
One  day  a  runner  from  a  friendly  tribe  on  the  great 
plains  to  the  west  brought  into  the  Valley  tales  of  the 
coming  from  the  west  of  a  strange  people  who  had  white 
skins,  who  brought  with  them  many  beasts  of  burden  and 
great  quantities  of  strange  goods.  Chief  Te-na-ya  sent 
out  scouts  and  runners  to  verify  these  tales,  and  from 
vantage  points  along  the  trails  to  the  west  these  men 
watched,  with  keen  eyes  and  breathless  interest,  for  the 
arrival  of  these  new  people.  By  and  by  their  watch  was 
rewarded  by  the  sight,  far  in  the  west,  of  a  long  line  of 
the  pale  faced  people  moving  steadily  toward  them.  At 
first  sight  of  this  invasion  of  their  lands  by  an  alien  race 
the  Indians  were  wrathful;  that  anyone  should  venture 

[53] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

into  their  hunting  ground  without  having  first  obtained 
the  permission  of  their  chief,  infuriated  them.  But  think 
ing  it  best  to  be  at  peace  with  these  new  people,  they 
advanced  to  meet  them  and  to  bid  them  be  welcome  in 
the  land.  This  the  white  men  did;  making  their  camps 
they  scattered  out  here  and  there  into  the  foothill 
country  in  search  of  gold.  The  runners  of  Te-na-ya  went 
back  to  their  chief  and  reported  what  they  had  seen,  but 
for  many  days  no  white  man  came  to  their  valley. 

Among  the  white  men  was  one  James  D.  Savage,  who 
early  realized  the  value  of  the  trust  and  friendship  of  the 
Indian  people  and  set  about  to  win  them.  The  newcomers 
were  all  more  or  less  successful  in  their  search  for  gold 
and  tales  of  their  successes  spread  back  to  the  plains  and 
caused  others  to  come.  They  soon  found  themselves  in 
need  of  supplies  and  Savage  erected  a  store  and  trading 
post  on  the  Merced  River  below  the  mouth  of  the  South 
Fork.  Here  the  miners  brought  their  gold  to  be  traded 
for  provisions  and  clothing.  Here  also  came  the  Indians 
to  marvel  at  the  strange  goods  and  ways  of  the  white 
men.  In  the  round-houses  of  the  tribes  throughout  the 
mountains  long  evenings  were  spent  in  discussion  of  the 
new  people  and  the  strange  yellow  metal  which  they  dug 
from  the  ground  or  panned  from  the  streams,  which  was 
so  valuable  that  it  could  be  traded  at  the  white  man's 
store  for  blankets  and  food.  They  decided  to  find  out 
about  it  and  accordingly  a  number  of  the  braves  sought 
employment  as  laborers  on  the  claims  of  the  pale  faces. 
These  carried  back  to  their  tribes  tales  of  the  metal  and 

[54] 


p 


Capitan  (or  Tutankonnula) .     See  page  77. 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

the  manner  in  which  the  white  man  found  it.  It  was  only 
a  short  time  then  until  a  number  of  the  Indians  them 
selves  had  claims  and  were  digging  the  yellow  gold  and 
trading  it  into  the  store  of  Savage  for  clothing,  orna 
ments,  blankets,  and  food.  But,  the  white  men  came  in 
ever  increasing  numbers  in  their  feverish  search  for  gold, 
overrunning  the  country  and  bringing  with  them  hogs 
and  donkeys  that  ate  up  and  destroyed  the  acorn  crop. 
Meadows  of  sweet  clover  and  grasses  were  plowed  up  and 
destroyed  that  the  white  man  might  plant  his  crops  of 
grain.  The  game  was  killed  or  driven  from  the  hills  by 
the  rifles  of  the  miners,  and  the  fish  were  seined  from  the 
streams  in  great  numbers.  The  Indian  looked  with  fear 
upon  this  despoilation  of  his  country.  The  situation  grew 
so  grave  that  a  council  of  the  chiefs  and  headmen  of  the 
tribes  was  called  to  discuss  it.  The  outcome  of  this  con 
ference  was  the  presentation  to  the  white  men  of  a 
proposition  that  they  should  share  with  the  Indians  all 
the  gold  found  as  a  compensation  for  the  damage  done 
the  country.  The  Indians  also  said  that  if  this  were  done 
the  miners  and  their  families  would  be  allowed  to  remain 
in  peace.  The  implied  threat  in  this  proposal  made  the 
white  men  very  indignant  and  they  not  only  scornfully 
refused  to  comply  with  the  request,  but  all  of  the  Indians 
who  had  claims  of  their  own  were  driven  from  the  ground, 
and  the  claims  taken  and  worked  by  white  men. 

Another  council  was  called  to  discuss  this  new  move 
of  the  whites,  and  it  was  decided  that  all  of  the  tribes 
should  unite  to  drive  them  from  the  country.  In  the 

[57] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

meantime  Savage  had  prospered.  He  had  gone  quietly 
about  winning  the  friendship  of  the  Indians,  had  taken 
several  squaws  to  be  his  wives,  and  as  a  consequence 
was  on  intimate  terms  with  most  of  the  tribes.  But,  in 
spite  of  this  he  did  not  escape  the  system  of  depredations 
now  inaugurated  by  the  Indians  and  his  trading  post  on 
the  Merced  River  was  raided  during  his  absence  by  a 
mixed  band  of  marauding  Indians,  who  after  carrying  off 
everything  that  was  of  any  use  to  them,  destroyed  the 
remaining  goods.  Savage  then  moved  his  store  to  a  spot 
on  Mariposa  Creek  near  the  present  site  of  the  town  of 
Mariposa.  He  also  erected  a  branch  store  on  the  Fresno 
River,  but  in  a  short  time  this  was  raided  and  plundered. 
Savage,  who  through  his  Indian  wives  was  more  or  less 
in  touch  with  the  feelings  and  doings  of  the  tribes,  feared 
a  general  outbreak.  In  order  to  prevent  this  he  conceived 
the  plan  of  taking  one  of  his  squaws  and  a  young  chief 
with  him  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  hoped  to  so  impress 
them  with  the  number  and  strength  of  the  white  men 
that  on  their  return  they  would  advise  their  tribes  against 
resistance  to  the  invasion  of  the  miners.  This  plan  was 
carried  out,  but  upon  their  arrival  in  San  Francisco  the 
young  chief,  much  to  Savage's  disgust,  got  drunk  and 
remained  in  that  happy  state  throughout  their  stay. 
During  a  quarrel  brought  on  by  the  conduct  of  the  Indian 
Savage  lost  his  temper  and  struck  him  in  the  face,  knock 
ing  him  to  the  floor.  He  regretted  his  action  instantly  and 
hoped  that  the  Indian,  being  drunk  at  the  time,  would 
not  remember  the  incident  when  he  became  sober.  After 

[58] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

remaining  for  several  days  they  returned  to  the  trading 
post  on  the  Fresno  River.  On  their  arrival  there  the 
Indians  gathered  around  the  young  chief  and  the  squaw 
eager  to  hear  their  tales  of  what  they  had  seen  in  the 
white  man's  village.  Savage  hoped  that  the  chief  would 
tell  all  the  Indians  about  the  large  number  of  white  men 
in  the  city.  But  instead  of  this  he  made  a  speech  during 
which  he  said  that  their  brother,  meaning  Savage,  was  not 
loyal,  that  while  in  the  city  he  had  struck  him  in  the 
face  and  knocked  him  down.  That,  while  there  were  a 
great  number  of  men  in  the  village  of  the  white  men,  they 
were  not  the  same  strong  men  as  the  miners,  that  they 
wore  fine  robes  and  high  hats  and  rode  in  carriages,  their 
faces  were  very  pale,  they  were  a  weak  people  not  given 
to  war,  and  that  if  the  Indians  made  war  on  the  miners 
these  people  from  the  city  would  not  come  to  help  their 
brothers.  Savage  then  realized  that  the  plan  had  failed 
and  that  some  other  action  was  necessary  to  subdue  the 
Indians. 

A  short  time  after  the  speech  of  the  young  chief  the 
Indians  organized  their  forces  and  began  a  series  of  raids 
on  the  white  settlers.  Outlying  camps  were  robbed  and 
burned.  Miners  going  to  and  from  their  claims  were 
ambushed  and  killed.  Things  grew  so  serious  that  a 
force  of  whites  was  organized  by  Savage  and  Sheriff 
James  Burney,  of  Mariposa,  to  drive  out  the  Indians 
responsible  for  the  outrages.  For  a  time  this  force  was 
successful  in  restoring  order,  but  the  continued  depre 
dations  of  the  Indians  in  the  foothill  country  resulted  in 

[59] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

an  appeal  to  Governor  McDougall  for  troops.  This 
appeal  was  answered  by  the  organization  on  February 
10,  1851,  of  the  Mariposa  Battalion,  a  force  of  some  two 
hundred  men  recruited  from  among  the  settlers.  Savage 
was  elected  as  Major  to  command  the  force,  and  three 
Captains  were  elected,  John  I.  Kuykendall,  to  command 
company  A,  John  Bowling,  to  command  company  B,  and 
William  Dill,  to  command  company  C.  This  force  was 
hurried  through  a  short  period  of  training  and  entered 
the  field  against  the  hostile  Indians.  After  much  chasing 
around,  several  minor  battles,  and  the  loss  of  a  few  men, 
they  were  successful  in  capturing  a  large  number  of  the 
Indians.  In  the  meantime  the  United  States  Indian 
Commissioners  had  taken  up  the  case  and  a  reservation 
had  been  prepared  for  the  Indians  on  the  Fresno  River 
twelve  miles  east  of  where  the  city  of  Madera  now  stands. 
Many  of  the  Indians  who  escaped  the  soldiers  now  sur 
rendered  on  the  assurance  of  the  Commissioners  that 
no  harm  would  come  to  them  at  the  hands  of  the  whites, 
and  they,  with  those  captured,  were  sent  to  the  reser 
vation. 

The  Indians  accounted  for  in  this  way  numbered  nearly 
all  of  those  in  the  region  except  chief  Te-na-ya  and  his 
band,  who  were  known  to  be  located  somewhere  on  the 
upper  Merced  River,  beyond  the  furtherest  point  yet 
explored  by  the  whites.  Major  Savage  had  been  repeated 
ly  warned  by  his  faithful  Indian  guides  that  he  must  not 
attempt  to  enter  the  stronghold  of  chief  Te-na-ya,  as  it 
was  the  valley  of  death  and  evil  spirits,  at  whose  gate- 

[60] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

way  stood  a  great  rock  chief,  from  the  crown  of  whose 
head  rocks  would  be  rolled  down  to  crush  any  who  tried 
to  enter.  However,  not  daunted  by  these  tales,  the  little 
band  of  hardy  men,  who,  now  that  their  task  was  nearly 
finished,  were  eager  to  be  done  and  back  to  their  homes, 
prepared  to  pursue  Te-na-ya  into  his  famous  stronghold, 
and  accordingly  started  in  the  direction  of  the  Valley. 
Arriving  at  the  South  Fork  of  the  Merced  River  they 
surprised  and  captured  a  small  band  of  roving  Indians 
who  surrendered  without  resistance.  Here  the  battalion 
went  into  camp  and  despatched  a  runner  into  the 
stronghold  of  Te-na-ya,  requesting  him  to  come  to  the 
camp  and  treat  with  them.  The  following  day  Te-na-ya 
answered  the  summons  in  person.  A  proposal  that  he 
take  his  tribe  in  peace  to  the  reservation  that  had  been 
prepared  for  them  on  the  Fresno  River,  where  they 
would  be  cared  for  by  the  white  men,  was  met  with  the 
explanation  that  if  he  should  venture  with  his  people 
from  their  stronghold  in  the  Valley  they  would  be 
pounced  upon  and  killed  by  their  enemies.  Te-na-ya 
said  that  he  and  his  people  were  peaceful  and  happy  in 
their  valley  where  there  was  plenty  of  food,  and  that  he 
cared  not  to  go  to  the  camp  of  the  pale  faces,  there  to 
live  upon  the  bounty  of  an  alien  race.  But  the  arguments 
of  the  white  men  prevailed  and  Te-na-ya  agreed  that 
if  allowed  to  return  to  his  valley  alone  he  would  bring 
back  with  him  his  people  to  the  camp  of  the  soldiers. 
His  request  was  granted  and  the  next  day  he  returned 
alone  to  the  camp,  saying  that  his  people  were  coming, 

fan 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

but  that  the  snow  was  so  deep  that  they  could  not  move 
fast  with  their  heavy  burdens.  After  several  days  had 
passed  and  no  Indians  arrived,  Major  Savage  detailed 
a  guard  for  the  prisoners  and  proceeded  with  the  re 
mainder  of  his  command  in  the  direction  of  the  famous 
stronghold,  taking  Te-na-ya  with  him  as  a  guide.  On 
the  way  they  were  met  by  about  seventy  of  Te-na-ya's 
band  making  their  way  through  the  deep  snow  in  the 
direction  of  the  soldier's  camp.  After  being  told  by  his 
Indian  guides  that  these  were  only  a  part  of  Te-na-ya's 
people  Major  Savage  detailed  a  second  guard  to  escort 
the  prisoners  to  the  camp,  and  again  proceeded  toward 
the  Valley.  As  he  had  little  faith  in  Te-na-ya  as  a  guide 
another  Indian  from  the  band  was  selected  and  Te-na-ya 
sent  back  to  the  camp  with  the  soldiers. 

At  a  point  near  what  is  now  known  as  Inspiration 
Point,  they  came  upon  their  first  view  of  the  Valley, 
March  25,  1851.  It  is  impossible  to  define  the  feelings 
with  which  the  different  men  of  the  command  greeted 
their  first  view  of  this  wonderland  that  has  since  become 
famous  throughout  the  world.  But,  as  it  was  Indians 
and  not  scenery  that  they  were  in  search  of,  they  made 
their  way  to  the  floor  of  the  Valley  and  made  camp  for 
the  night. 

After  the  duties  of  the  camp  were  attended  to,  and  the 
men  had  had  their  supper,  they  gathered  around  the 
campfire  to  discuss  the  events  of  the  day.  The  question 
of  a  name  for  the  Valley  came  up  for  discussion.  By  this 
time  the  beauty  and  majesty  of  their  surroundings  had 

[621 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF. THE  YOSEMITE 

made  an  impression  on  most  of  them,  and  such  sug 
gestions  as  "Paradise  Valley"  and  "Happy  Valley"  were 
numerous,  but  Dr.  L.  H.  Bunnell,  a  private  in  Company 
B,  suggested  that  it  be  named  for  the  Indians  who  lived 
there.  A  verbal  vote  was  taken  and  Dr.  Bunnell's  sug 
gestion  was  adopted.  The  people  of  Te-na-ya  were  known 
to  the  white  men  as  the  Yo-sem-i-tes,  and  the  Valley 
was  accordingly  named  Yo-sem-i-te. 

The  following  day  the  command  made  a  thorough 
search  of  the  Valley,  but  with  the  exception  of  one  old 
squaw,  who  was  too  old  to  travel,  and  who  had  accord 
ingly  been  left  behind  to  die,  they  found  no  Indians.  They 
did,  however,  find  some  huts  which  showed  signs  of 
recent  occupation  and  several  large  caches  of  acorns  and 
nuts,  all  of  which  they  destroyed.  Being  short  of  supplies 
they  returned  that  afternoon  to  their  camp  on  the  South 
Fork.  From  there  they  returned  to  their  headquarters  on 
Mariposa  Creek,  sending  Te-na-ya  and  the  other  cap 
tives  with  an  escort  to  the  reservation. 

While  this  was  going  on  a  number  of  the  Indians  on 
the  reservation  had  become  dissatisfied  with  the  arrange 
ments  made  for  their  comfort,  and  had  made  their  escape 
to  the  hills.  A  second  expedition  was  determined  on  to 
return  these  to  the  reservation,  where  the  authorities 
had  determined  to  keep  all  of  the  Indians,  as  well  as  for 
the  purpose  of  another  effort  to  bring  in  the  remainder 
of  Te-na-ya's  band.  This  force  under  command  of  Cap 
tain  Bowling,  Major  Savage  being  engaged  in  conference 
with  the  Commissioners  at  the  reservation,  entered  the 

[63] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

Valley  again  on  May  9,  1851,  and  made  camp  near  where 
the  Yosemite  Village  now  stands. 

In  the  meantime  Te-na-ya  had  made  his  escape  from 
the  reservation  and  was  supposed  to  have  rejoined  his 
people  in  the  Valley.  The  following  day  the  soldiers 
surprised  and  captured  a  party  of  five  Indian  scouts  near 
the  base  of  the  peaks  now  known  as  The  Three  Brothers. 
These  were  taken  into  camp  where  it  developed  that 
three  of  them  were  brothers,  and  the  sons  of  the  old 
chief.  They  assured  Captain  Bowling  that  if  allowed  to 
go  alone  they  could  and  would  persuade  Te-na-ya  to 
surrender  with  all  of  his  people.  Upon  this  assurance 
Captain  Bowling  allowed  two  of  them  to  go,  holding  the 
other  three  as  hostages.  The  two  Indians  did  not  return 
and  Captain  Bowling  sent  out  a  messenger  with  instruc 
tions  to  try  to  get  in  touch  with  Te-na-ya  and  tell  him 
that  he  was  expected  in  the  camp.  This  messenger  located 
Te-na-ya  on  top  of  the  cliffs  to  the  right  of  Indian 
Canyon,  from  which  point  the  old  chief  had  been  watch 
ing  the  movements  of  the  soldiers  in  the  Valley,  and  held 
conversation  with  him  from  the  bottom  of  the  cliff. 
Te-na-ya  said  that  he  did  not  want  to  go  back  to  the 
reservation,  but  would  make  peace  with  the  white  men 
if  they  would  allow  him  and  his  people  to  stay  in  their 
Valley.  This  information  the  messenger  brought  back  to 
Captain  Bowling,  and  several  scouting  parties  were  sent 
out  in  an  attempt  to  capture  the  old  chief.  During  the 
day  the  three  captives  who  had  been  allowed  the  freedom 
of  the  camp,  made  an  attempt  to  escape  in  which  one  of 

[64J 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

them  was  successful.  The  other  two  were  then  bound  to  a 
tree,  but  later  in  the  day  succeeded  in  loosening  their 
bonds  and  made  another  break  for  freedom,  whereupon 
the  guards  fired  at  them,  killing  one  and  wounding 
the  other.  The  one  killed  turned  out  to  be  the  youngest 
son  of  Te-na-ya. 

One  of  the  scouting  parties  sent  out  by  Captain 
Bowling  was  successful  in  surrounding  and  capturing 
Te-na-ya,  whom  they  brought  back  into  camp.  Upon  his 
arrival  there  the  first  object  to  meet  his  gaze  was  the 
dead  body  of  his  youngest  son.  His  grief  over  this  be 
reavement  was  pitiful,  and  for  several  days  he  maintained 
an  unbroken  silence,  making  no  response  to  expressions 
of  regret  and  sympathy  on  the  part  of  officers  and  men, 
and  disdainfully  ignoring  repeated  questions  as  to  the 
whereabouts  of  the  remainder  of  his  band.  Despite  a 
feeling  of  genuine  sympathy  Captain  Bowling  declined 
to  take  any  chances  of  the  wily  old  chief  making  another 
escape  and  had  him  bound  and  watched.  With  the 
characteristic  hauteur  of  his  race  Te-na-ya  resented 
bitterly  the  indignity  of  being  tied  up  and  made  every 
effort  to  escape.  There  was  an  abundance  of  sweet  clover 
growing  in  the  meadow  about  the  camp  and  Captain 
Bowling,  knowing  the  Indians'  fondness  for  this,  directed 
that  Te-na-ya  be  allowed  to  have  some  of  it.  The  guards 
then  turned  the  old  chief  out  on  the  meadow  with  a  rope 
tied  to  his  leg  much  in  the  manner  of  a  hobbled  horse. 
One  afternoon  while  thus  occupied  he  succeeded  in  freeing 
his  leg  from  the  rope  and  made  a  dash  for  the  river  and 

[651 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

freedom,  but  was  caught  and  brought  back  by  his  guards, 
whereupon  he  broke  his  long  silence  in  an  impassioned 
speech,  directed  at  Captain  Bowling,  and  which  Dr. 
Bunnell  in  his  book,  "The  Discovery  of  the  Yosemite," 
translates  thus:  "Kill  me,  sir,  Captain!  Yes,  kill  me,  as 
you  killed  my  son;  as  you  would  kill  my  people  if  they 
were  to  come  to  you !  You  would  kill  all  my  race  if  you 
had  the  power.  Yes,  sir,  American,  you  can  now  tell  your 
warriors  to  kill  the  old  chief;  you  have  made  me  sorrow 
ful,  my  life  dark;  you  have  killed  the  child  of  my  heart, 
why  not  kill  the  father?  But  wait  a  little ;  when  I  am  dead, 
I  will  call  to  my  people  to  come  to  you ;  I  will  call  louder 
than  you  have  had  me  call  (referring  to  the  expressed 
wishes  of  the  officers  that  he  should  call  in  his  people) ; 
that  they  shall  hear  me  in  their  sleep,  and  come  to  avenge 
the  death  of  their  chief  and  his  son.  Yes,  sir,  American, 
my  spirit  will  make  trouble  for  you  and  your  people,  as 
you  have  caused  trouble  to  me  and  my  people.  With  the 
wizards  I  will  follow  the  white  men  and  make  them  fear 
me.  You  may  kill  me,  sir,  Captain,  but  you  shall  not  live 
in  peace.  I  will  follow  in  your  footsteps,  I  will  not  leave 
my  home,  but  be  with  the  spirits  among  the  rocks,  the 
waterfalls,  in  the  river  and  the  winds;  wheresoever  you 
go,  I  will  be  with  you.  You  will  not  see  me,  but  you  will 
fear  the  spirit  of  the  old  chief,  and  grow  cold.  The  great 
spirits  have  spoken!  I  have  done." 

But  Captain  Bowling  had  no  desire  to  kill  the  old  chief, 
whose  bravery  he  so  much  admired,  and  told  him  so  with 
renewed  protestations  of  regret  for  the  death  of  his  son, 

[661 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

whereupon  Te-na-ya  relaxed  again  into  sullen  silence. 

In  the  meantime  a  systematic  search  for  the  remaining 
members  of  Te-na-ya's  band  was  being  conducted  by  the 
soldiers,  and  information  was  brought  in  by  a  guide  that 
they  had  been  located  in  a  camp  on  top  of  the  mountain 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  Valley.  The  soldiers  immediately 
started  in  pursuit,  making  their  way  in  some  places  over 
snow  five  or  six  feet  deep.  Finally  smoke  was  seen  curling 
through  the  tree  tops  and  proceeding  cautiously,  they 
found  the  Indians  camped  near  a  beautiful  little  lake. 
Quietly  surrounding  the  camp  they  surprised  and  cap 
tured  the  Indians,  who  surrendered  without  resistance. 
The  lake  was  then  given  the  name  of  the  old  chief  who 
had  offered  such  stubborn  resistance  to  the  white  men, 
and  whose  bravery  and  spirit  was  universally  admired  by 
the  command,  and  to  this  day  is  known  as  Lake  Te-na-ya. 

The  Indians  were  brought  down  to  the  camp  in  the 
Valley  and  thence  to  the  reservation  on  the  Fresno 
River.  Here  they  early  proved  the  wisdom  of  their  old 
chief's  contention  by  rapidly  degenerating  under  the 
influence  of  the  white  man's  so-called  civilization.  They 
demonstrated  quickly  the  Indian's  natural  ability  to 
absorb  all  of  the  white  man's  vices  and  inability  to  absorb 
any  of  his  virtues.  Their  morals  were  ruined  in  their 
attempt  to  follow  the  examples  of  the  baser  sort  of  white 
men  with  whom  they  came  in  contact.  Their  old  tribal 
customs  and  beliefs  were  ignored,  and  diseases  with 
which  their  medicine  men  were  unfamiliar  lessened  their 
ranks. 

[671 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

Te-na-ya  begged  to  be  allowed  to  take  the  remaining 
members  of  his  tribe  back  to  their  valley  in  the  moun 
tains,  promising  that  neither  he  nor  any  of  his  people 
would  ever  again  make  trouble  for  the  whites.  After 
much  pleading  he  was  allowed  to  go,  taking  with  him 
only  the  members  of  his  immediate  family,  but  he  was 
soon  joined  by  other  members  of  his  band  who  escaped 
from  the  reservation,  and  made  their  way  back  to  the 
Valley.  They  were  allowed  to  remain  there  unmolested 
until,  in  the  spring  of  1852,  a  party  of  five  prospectors 
entered  the  Valley.  They  were  attacked  by  the  Yo-sem-i- 
tes  and  two  of  their  number  were  killed.  The  remaining 
three  hid  in  the  rocks  until  nightfall  and  succeeded  in 
making  their  way  out  of  the  Valley  and  back  to  Mariposa. 
When  the  story  of  the  murder  of  the  two  miners  reached 
the  officer  in  command  of  the  Federal  troops  at  Fort 
Miller,  on  the  San  Joaquin  River,  a  detachment  of 
regular  soldiers  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Moore, 
U.  S.  A.,  was  sent  into  the  Valley  to  capture  the  Indians 
responsible  for  the  outrage.  This  force  succeeded  in 
capturing  a  few  of  the  Indians,  the  balance,  led  by  Te- 
na-ya,  making  their  escape  to  the  hills  around  the  Valley. 
Among  those  captured  were  five  who  were  wearing  the 
clothing  of  the  murdered  men,  and  these  five  Lieutenant 
Moore  lined  up  and  ordered  shot.  The  naked  and  muti 
lated  bodies  of  the  dead  men  were  found  and  buried  in  the 
Valley;  being  the  first  white  men  to  be  killedthere.  After 
making  an  unsuccessful  search  for  Te-na-ya  and  the  re 
mainder  of  the  band,  this  force  returned  to  Fort  Miller. 

[68] 


Cathedral  Spires  (or  Puseena  Chuckati)  and  Cathedral  Rocks. 
See  page  80. 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

Shortly  afterward  Te-na-ya,  fearing  that  the  white  men 
would  come  again  to  take  him  to  their  hated  reservation, 
gathered  about  him  the  remaining  members  of  his  tribe 
and  crossed  the  mountains  to  Mo-no  Lake,  where  they 
lived  until  the  summer  of  1853  with  the  Mo-no  tribe.  In 
the  late  summer  of  that  year  they  returned  to  their 
Valley.  Shortly  after  their  return  a  party  of  Te-na-ya's 
braves  again  crossed  the  mountains  and  stole  a  band  of 
horses  from  the  tribe  whose  hospitality  they  had  so 
lately  enjoyed.  This  ungrateful  action  so  infuriated  the 
Mo-nos  that,  donning  their  war  paint,  they  started,  under 
the  leadership  of  a  young  Mo-no  chief,  in  pursuit  of  the 
thieves.  From  the  rim  of  the  Valley  above  the  camp  of 
Te-na-ya  this  young  chief  looked  down  upon  the  Yo- 
sem-i-tes  in  the  midst  of  a  feast.  Bringing  his  warriors 
down  into  the  Valley  they  surprised  Te-na-ya  and  his 
braves,  and  in  the  hand-to-hand  fight  that  followed 
Te-na-ya  was  struck  in  the  head  by  a  rock  hurled  by  a 
young  Mo-no  brave  and  killed.  It  was  perhaps  fitting 
that  the  old  chief  should  die  in  the  Valley  which  he  had 
so  loved,  and  which,  according  to  his  lights,  he  had  so 
stubbornly  tried  to  retain  for  himself  and  his  people.  In 
this  battle  the  Yo-sem-i-tes  were  practically  exterminated 
and  very  few  of  their  descendants  are  to  be  found  today. 


[71 


CHAPTER  5 

THE  STORY  OF  YOSEMITE 

IT  IS  not  generally  known  that  the  Yosemite  Valley  is 
a  very  small  part  of  the  Yosemite  National  Park. 
Nearly  all  visitors  to  Yosemite  are  surprised  to  learn  that 
the  Park  embraces  over  eleven  hundred  square  miles  of 
territory. 

To  those  who  are  at  all  interested  in  nature  the  woods 
and  streams  of  the  Park  present  a  fascinating  study. 
To  the  naturalist  they  will  reveal  a  wealth  of  forms,  in 
fact,  out-door  scientists  of  almost  every  kind  find  the 
area  a  particularly  fortunate  spot  for  the  pursuit  of  their 
studies.  Within  its  boundaries  are  to  be  found  more  than 
eighty  species  of  animal  life,  over  two  hundred  different 
varieties  of  birds,  about  twelve  hundred  varieties  of 
ferns  and  flowering  plants,  thirty-five  species  of  trees, 
including  three  groves  of  the  giant  sequoia,  or  "Big 
Trees,"  ten  varieties  of  trout,  twenty-one  species  of 
reptiles,  eleven  different  varieties  of  amphibians  or 
batrachians,  and  a  myriad  of  insects.  Throughout  the 
region  the  legibility  of  the  records  left  by  the  glaciers  and 

[72] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

other  tools  used  by  nature  in  forming  the  continent  is  a 
source  of  unending  interest  to  geologists. 

However,  despite  its  size,  one  of  the  charming  features 
of  this  playground  is  the  easy  accessibility  of  its  higher 
reaches.  Leading  from  the  Valley  are  easy  trails  up  which 
the  out-of-doors  devotee  may  strike  into  a  mountain 
land  of  surpassing  grandeur  and  charm.  A  land  sprinkled 
with  park-like  glades,  dotted  with  lakes  of  exceeding 
beauty  so  numerous  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  dis 
tinguishing  them  by  name,  watered  by  sparkling  streams 
that  are  the  children  of  mountain  glacier  and  eternal 
snow,  and  whose  banks  are  often  wholly  hidden  in  luxur 
iant  masses  of  fern  and  flowering  growth  of  many  kinds 
and  colors,  clothed  with  endless  forests  of  magnificent 
trees,  and  blessed  with  an  enchanted  climate. 

Just  to  have  seen  the  Valley,  to  have  stood  in  the  awe 
inspiring  and  thought  inducing  presence  of  its  combina 
tion  of  majesty  and  loveliness,  is  itself  satisfaction,  but 
to  wander  through  the  higher  reaches,  to  stand  in  the 
mighty  shadows  of  the  heaven  reaching  mountains,  to 
climb  into  their  embrace,  to  penetrate  into  their  intimate 
recesses,  to  know  their  flowerstrewn  glacier-chiseled 
canyons  and  granite  cradled  lakes,  to  stand  upon  their 
bare,  ice-bound  summits  and  hold  communion  with  the 
sky  is  an  unforgettable  experience. 

THE  GATEWAY 

The  varying  emotions  with  which  mere  man  greets  his 
first  view  of  Yosemite  Valley,  like  human  nature  itself, 

[73] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

run  the  scale  from  flippancy  to  tears  of  awe  and  reverence. 
Any  attempt  to  describe  the  unutterable  grandeur  and 
sublimity  of  the  scene  unrolled  before  him  only  serves  to 
demonstrate  the  pitiful  inadequacy  of  our  language  to 
measure  up  to  such  a  task.  Well  might  Hutchirigs  say, 
"When  the  painter's  art  can  build  the  rainbow  upon 
canvas  so  as  to  deceive  the  sense  of  sight — when  simple 
words  can  tell  the  depth  and  height,  the  length  and 
breadth,  of  a  single  thought — or  the  metaphysician's 
skill  delineate,  beyond  peradventure,  the  hidden  mys 
teries  of  a  living  soul — then,  ah!  then,  it  may  be 
possible." 

It  is  utterably  beyond  the  power  of  language  to  convey 
any  impression  of  the  awe-inspiring  majesty  of  the  walls 
of  solid  granite  that  enclose  the  Valley  on  every  side, 
darkly  frowning  and  seemingly  overhanging,  as  though  to 
threaten  with  instant  annihilation  any  who  denied  their 
power.  If  man  ever  feels  his  utter  insignificance,  his  in 
finitesimal  importance  as  a  mere  atom  in  the  scheme  of 
things,  it  should  be  when  gazing  upon  this  scene  of 
appalling  grandeur  so  charmingly  blended  with  trans- 
scendant  loveliness. 

Before  you,  as  you  enter  the  gateway,  winds  the  beauti 
ful  Merced  River,  singing  on  its  way  from  its  source  in 
the  snow-capped  peaks  of  the  high  Sierra  to  its  ultimate 
destination  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father  of  Oceans,  while 
flanking  the  river  is  a  grass-carpeted,  flower-strewn 
meadow,  the  sight  of  which  is  as  a  benediction  among  all 
the  impressive  magnificence  of  its  setting.. 

[74] 


THE    LORE   AND    THE    LURE    OF    THE    YOSEMITE 
BRIDAL  VEIL  FALL 

On  the  right  the  eye  is  drawn,  as  by  a  magnet,  to 
Bridal  Veil  Fall,  pouring  over  and  down  the  mighty  cliff 
from  its  elevated  canyon  bed  six  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  above,  to  be  torn  and  dashed  into  silvery  spray  on 
the  rocks  below.  Famed  in  song  and  story  the  world  over, 
this  fall  furnishes  a  scenic  spectacle  of  such  intrinsic 
beauty  the  eye  never  wearies  of  gazing  upon  it.  The  grace 
fully  waving  sheets  of  gauzy  spray  glimmering  in  the 
sunlight,  the  ever-changing  rainbow  hued  clouds  of  mist 
that  chase  each  other  in  such  graceful  abandon  from 
bottom  to  top  of  the  slender  column;  the  ethereal  and 
spirit-like  quality  of  the  whole  inspires  a  feeling  of  ad 
miration  and  awe  almost  amounting  to  reverence. 

EL  CAPITAN 

Across  The  Gateway,  facing  Bridal  Veil  Fall,  stands 
El  Capitan,  called  by  the  Indians,  Tu-tau-kon-nu-la,  or 
"rock  chief."  To  apply  human  standards  of  measurement 
to  this  monarch  of  mountains  is  sacrilege.  To  attempt  by 
mere  words  and  figures  to  convey  some  idea  of  its  stu 
pendous  massiveness,  its  nobly-defiant  impressive  indi 
viduality,  is  rankest  folly.  Towering  over  thirty-six 
hundred  feet  above  the  Valley  floor,  more  than  twice  the 
height  of  Gibralter,  the  world's  largest  and  highest  rock, 
the  world's  most  nearly  perpendicular  cliff,  embracing  on 
its  surface  over  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
glacier- worn,  storm-beaten  solid  granite,  the  unspeakable 

[75] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

grandeur,  the  preeminent  glory  and  strength,  the  air  of 
unutterable  age,  irresistable  power,  and  infinite  repose  of 
El  Capitan  beggar  description.  Here  this  great  "rock 
chief"  stands,  the  mightiest,  the  most  glorious  of  his 
kind,  keeping  perpetual  vigil  over  the  rock  portals  of  his 
kingdom,  and  we  can  but  bow  our  heads  in  reverent  awe 
to  receive  the  benediction  which  he  bestows  upon  all  who 
pass  his  throne. 

RIBBON  FALL 

Looking  across  to  the  left  toward  the  top  of  the  moun 
tain  a  gleaming  silvery  thread  of  lace-like  drapery  can  be 
seen,  pouring  over  the  cliffs  at  an  elevation  of  thirty-three 
hundred  feet  above  the  road.  This  is  Ribbon  Fall,  named 
by  the  Indians  Lung-oo-too-koo-yah,  or  "the  graceful 
and  slender  one."  Shooting  out  from  a  canyon  three 
hundred  feet  deep,  which  it  has  chiseled  for  itself  in  the 
mountain  top,  the  stream  falls  in  a  torrent  of  exceeding 
beauty,  surrounded  by  gauzy  clouds  of  vari-colored  mist, 
over  sixteen  hundred  feet  into  the  rocky  basin  below. 
Viewed  from  a  distance  the  water  seems  to  descend  with 
a  slow  and  easy  grace  that  is  captivating  in  the  extreme. 
But  when  standing  near,  one  is  appalled  by  the  rapidity 
of  its  fall  and  the  smashing  vibration  of  its  impact  on  the 
rocks.  In  the  early  spring,  when  the  stream  is  augmented 
by  rains  and  melting  snows,  the  sheer  loveliness  of  this, 
the  world's  highest  unbroken  waterfall,  is  charming 
beyond  words. 


[76 


THE    LORE   AND    THE    LURE    OF    THE    YOSEMITE 
THE  VALLEY 

Once  inside  the  Valley,  enclosed  by  its  mighty,  temple- 
walls,  when  its  heaven-reaching  cliffs  have  thrown  their 
mile  long  shadows  over  us,  when  the  marvelous  combina 
tion  of  beauty  and  grandeur,  of  noble  cliff  and  waving 
flower,  of  leaping  waterfall  and  tinkling  brook,  of  mag 
nificent  tree  and  soft  green  grass,  of  light  and  shade  and 
color,  has  made  its  first  vivid  impression  we  feel  as 
though  we  were  entering  the  joint  abode  of  all  the  titans 
and  fairies.  And  as  the  silvery  thread  of  the  river  glistens 
down  the  long  vistas  that  open  before  us,  as  the  grand 
panorama  ever-changing  keeps  us  in  an  ecstasy  of 
wonder  and  delight;  as  at  every  step  some  new  beauty 
presents  itself,  as  crystal  streams,  whose  mossy  banks 
are  fringed  with  flowers  that  are  always  blooming,  and 
grasses  that  are  ever  green,  gurgle  and  ripple  across  our 
path,  as  one  looks  up  between  the  towering  pines  and 
spreading  oaks  to  the  unyielding  cliffs  that  rise  in  such 
noble  outline  against  the  blue  vault  of  heaven,  or  watches 
the  ever-changing  lights  and  shadows  that  follow  in  such 
rapid  succession  across  the  sun-bathed  face  of  El  Capitan, 
or  the  gusty  torrent  of  Yosemite  Fall  as  it  leaps  the  cloud- 
draped  summit  of  the  cliff  to  be  dashed  into  dazzling 
spray  on  the  immovable  granite  below,  we  are  prone  to 
acknowledge  the  truth  of  the  statement,  "Yosemite  has 
not  a  rival  on  this  earth." 

And,  when  the  gaze  has  roamed  around  the  rim  of  the 
Valley,  when  Cathedral  Rocks,  Cathedral  Spires,  Sen- 

[77] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

tinel  Rock,  Glacier  Point,  Half  Dome,  Clouds  Rest, 
Mount  Watkins,  Basket  Dome,  North  Dome,  Washing 
ton  Column,  Royal  Arches,  The  Three  Brothers,  and  a 
score  of  other  impressive  points,  have  brought  to  us  their 
age  old  message,  and  the  myriad  of  beauties  of  a  myriad 
of  nooks  and  corners  have  insinuated  themselves  into 
our  consciousness,  this  impression  is  vivified. 

CATHEDRAL  ROCKS 

Above  the  Bridal  Veil  Fall  towers  Cathedral  Rocks, 
one  of  the  salient  points  of  this  end  of  the  Valley,  holding 
for  the  real  cliff  lover  a  personality  and  attractiveness 
all  their  own,  though  dwarfed  by  their  proximity  to  the 
overshadowing  hulk  of  El  Capitan. 

CATHEDRAL  SPIRES 

Next  to  Cathedral  Rocks  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
ro'ck  formations  in  the  Valley,  Cathedral  Spires,  called 
by  the  Indians  Pu-see-na  Chuck-ah,  or  "mouseproof 
storehouse."  The  double  pinnacled  towers  are  a  real 
architectural  structure;  two  monoliths  of  granite  climb 
ing  nearly  twenty-two  hundred  feet  into  the  zenith,  and 
buttressed  at  their  base  by  boulders  of  every  conceivable 
size  and  shape  piled  in  magnificent  confusion.  Nearby 
can  still  be  seen  a  white  scar  on  the  granite  marking  the 
site  of  a  third  spire  which  report  has  it  was  shaken  down 
during  the  earthquake  of  1857,  and  the  debris  of  which 
is  said  to  have  covered  thirty  acres.  Aloof,  dignified, 
sphinx-like,  it  is  fascinating  to  ruminate  on  what  miracles 

[78] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

of  evolution  they  have  gazed,  what  ravages  of  flood  and 
storm  and  glacier  they  have  withstood. 

THE  THREE  BROTHERS 

Facing  the  Cathedral  Spires  across  the  Valley  are  The 
Three  Brothers,  so  called,  it  is  said,  from  the  fact  that  on 
the  second  expedition  of  the  Mariposa  Battalion  into  the 
Valley  in  1851,  a  party  of  Indian  scouts  were  captured 
near  the  base  of  this  mountain,  three  of  whom  turned  out 
to  be  brothers,  the  sons  of  old  chief  Te-na-ya.  The  Indian 
name  for  these  peaks  is  Waw-haw-kee,  signifying  "falling 
rocks."  Here  again  the  almost  perfect  symmetry  of  outline 
suggests  man's  collaboration  in  the  more  unthinking 
architecture  of  nature. 

SENTINEL  ROCK 

A  short  distance  further  up  the  Valley  and  on  the 
opposite  side  stands  Sentinel  Rock,  the  dominating  land 
mark  of  the  southern  rim  of  the  Valley,  named  by  the 
Indians  Loi-ya,  or  "water  basket."  Towering  three 
thousand  feet  above  the  floor  of  the  Valley,  this  magnifi 
cent  column  of  granite,  showing  on  its  weather-worn 
face  all  shades  of  translucent  grays  and  blues  and  mauves, 
is  doubly  impressive  in  its  splendid  isolation,  its  calm 
dignity  and  nobility,  its  sheer  glory  of  stalwart  beauty. 

YOSEMITE  FALL 

Opposite  The  Sentinel  Rock,  at  a  point  nearly  twenty- 
six  hundred  feet  above  the  Valley  floor,  Yosemite 

[791 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

Creek  pours  its  waters  over  the  cliff  in  the  world's  highest 
and  most  beautiful  waterfall.  Leaping  the  brow  of  the 
cliff  in  a  majestic  torrent,  surrounded  by  eddying  mists  of 
iridescent  color,  the  water  goes  hurtling  down  over  four 
teen  hundred  feet  in  a  sheer  drop  to  the  first  bench  of  the 
fall.  Here  it  gathers  itself  for  another  rush,  and  after 
cascading  for  some  six  hundred  feet,  takes  another  drop 
of  three  hundred  feet  into  the  seething  basin  below.  To 
attempt  to  describe  the  inexpressible  beauty  of  Yosemite 
Fall  is  as  impossible  as  it  is  unnecessary.  During  the  early 
months  of  the  season  it  is  a  truly  awe  inspiring  sight. 
The  immense  volume  of  water  from  melting  snows  in  the 
higher  reaches  of  the  Sierras  rushes  over  the  brink  with 
irresistible  force.  The  vibration  of  its  thundering  impact 
on  the  rocks  has  been  known  to  rattle  windows  in  Yo 
semite  Village  nearly  a  mile  across  the  Valley,  and  the 
wind  blown  spray,  shot  with  all  the  rainbow  colors,  can 
be  felt  a  quarter  mile  away. 

GLACIER  POINT 

Glacier  Point  has  been  described  by  thousands  as  one 
of  the  paramount  scenic  points  of  the  Valley.  And,  it  is 
true  that  from  here,  nearly  thirty-three  hundred  feet 
above  the  floor  of  the  Valley,  an  unsurpassed  view  of  the 
Valley  and  the  surrounding  country  can  be  had.  Words 
cannot  paint  the  haze  clothed  heights  and  depths  of  the 
marvelous  panorama  unrolled  before  one's  gaze  from  this 
glorious  scenic  viewpoint.  From  here  every  deep  cleft, 
every  storm-chiseled  gorge,  every  heaven-scraping  crag 

[80] 


The  Three  Brothers  (or  Wawhawkee).     See  page  81 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

and  towering  peak  of  the  great  chain  of  the  Sierra  for  a 
radius  of  many  miles  is  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  Looking 
up  the  cliffs  from  the  Valley  floor  toward  the  top  of  Gla 
cier  Point  one  notes  the  two  great  ledges  or  steps  in  the 
cliff  face,  which  look  almost  as  if  they  had  been  fashioned 
by  the  hand  of  man,  and  jutting  out  over  the  bulging 
brow  of  the  cliff,  the  famous  overhanging  rock.  This 
rock,  a  block  of  granite  some  twelve  feet  in  length  by 
six  feet  in  width,  which  looks  as  if  it  might  have  been 
carried  and  balanced  there  by  some  prehistoric  giant, 
shoves  one-third  or  more  of  its  length  over  the  thirty- 
three  hundred  foot  brink  of  the  cliff  in  splendid  disregard 
of  the  breath-taking  void  beneath  it.  It  is  a  favorite 
subject  of  the  kodak  artist  and  is  probably  the  most 
photographed  spot  or  object  in  the  Valley.  A  fact  not 
generally  known  about  the  overhanging  rock  is  that  by 
springing  up  and  down  on  the  smaller  rock  wedged 
against  its  base  one  can  cause  it  to  really  rock,  swaying 
up  and  down  with  a  play  of  some  four  or  five  inches. 
The  top  of  Glacier  Point  is  probably  more  easily 
reached,  and  by  more  different  routes,  than  any  other 
height  in  the  Park.  And,  some  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  back  from  the  brink  of  the  cliff  stands  Glacier 
Point  Hotel,  which  is  itself  entitled  to  the  distinction 
of  being  classed  as  one  of  the  features  of  the  region. 
Affording  accommodations  for  some  two  hundred  guests, 
and  embodying,  as  it  does,  all  the  comforts  and  con 
veniences  of  the  most  modern  city  hotel  with  its  own 
delightfully  informal  and  rustic  atmosphere,  it  stands 

[83] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

unique  among  the  hotels  for  which  our  western  country 
is  justly  famous. 

For  the  lover  of  hiking  the  Ledge  Trail  should  hold  a 
compelling  attraction.  Beginning  near  the  Le  Conte 
Memorial  Lodge,  the  trail  winds  its  way  by  more  or  less 
easy  stages  to  the  top  of  the  cliff,  presenting  at  every 
turn  some  new  beauty  to  gladden  the  heart. 

Visitors  stopping  overnight  at  Glacier  Point  will  be 
lulled  to  sleep  by  the  drowsy  murmur  of  Vernal  and 
Nevada  Falls  pouring  into  Merced  Canyon  far  below, 
and  throughout  the  day  will  be  treated  to  a  series  of 
scenic  spectacles  that  can  hardly  be  duplicated  anywhere 
else  on  earth.  It  is  a  particularly  fortunate  spot  from  which 
to  watch  the  sunrise.  Here  the  early  riser  may  "Hail! 
smiling  morn,  that  tips  the  hills  with  gold,"  and  "watch 
the  streaming  tails  of  mighty  comets  of  light  heralding 
the  approach  of  dawn  from  among  the  snow-clad  peaks 
and  forest  heights  of  the  Sierras."  The  highest  peaks  are 
first  to  catch  the  golden  rays.  On  their  lofty  crowns  the 
light  lingers  as  if  hesitant  to  disturb  a  sleeping  world. 
Then  the  dark  shadowed  snow-fields  are  slowly  changed 
to  gleaming  white,  the  golden  flood  catches  and  gilds  the 
wavy  tops  of  the  forest,  and  as  the  light  comes  flooding 
slowly  over  the  mountains  the  great  peaks  smile  out  one 
by  one  their  joyous,  age-old  greeting.  Far,  far  below, 
still  sunk  in  the  purple  hush  of  shadow,  lies  the  Valley, 
while  the  sun  shoots  lance  after  lance  of  gold  down  the 
mountain  side.  Then  it  suddenly  streams  through  the 
canyon  into  the  Valley  below,  throwing  a  long  golden 

[841 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

wedge  of  light  that  shoves  out  and  out,  reaching  and 
stretching  its  luminous  point,  until  in  a  few  minutes  it 
lights  up  the  rugged,  weather-beaten  face  of  grand  old 
El  Capitan,  bringing  out  in  bold  relief  the  figure  of 
Tu-tau-kon-nu-la.  From  far  below  the  river  shoots  up 
glittering  shafts  of  light,  Half  Dome  throws  its  miles  long 
shadow  adown  the  Valley,  and  the  brooding  quiet  is  only 
broken  by  the  soothing  voices  of  the  waterfalls,  that  rise 
in  waves  from  the  void  below,  and  the  glad,  wild  song  of  a 
bird  trilling  a  rapturous  greeting  to  the  newborn  day. 

Here  one  may  sit  for  hours,  charmed  by  the  magnifi 
cence  of  the  giant  canvas  spread  before  him,  and  the 
always  busy  hand  of  the  artist  evidenced  in  the  ever- 
changing  color,  light  and  cloud  effects.  From  here  one 
commands  a  splendid  view  of  Half  Dome,  and  of  the 
three  glaciers  Lyell,  Dana,  and  McClure.  Lyell  Glacier 
lies  at  the  base  of  Mount  Lyell,  the  highest  peak  in  the 
Park.  Off  to  the  south,  Gale  Peak  rears  its  pyramid-like 
bulk  into  the  clouds;  high  above  the  Merced  Canyon 
Mount  Starr  King  and  Mount  Clark  dominate  the  range, 
while  just  to  the  left  of  Nevada  Fall,  Mount  Liberty  Cap 
and  Mount  Broderick  can  be  seen  lifting  their  storm- 
beaten  heads.  Below  one,  softened  by  distance  and  the 
intervening  blue  haze,  surrounded  by  the  immutable 
cliffs  of  everlasting  granite,  sleeps  the  Valley,  spread 
like  some  landscape  artist's  dream  in  miniature,  the 
trees  but  "feathered  toothpicks,"  the  buildings  and 
tents  but  tiny  dots,  and  the  Merced  River  a  glimmering, 
silvery  ribbon  winding  across  a  bed  of  green. 

[85] 


THE    LORE   AND    THE    LURE    OF    THE    YOSEMITE 
HALF  DOME 

One's  first  sight  of  Half  Dome  calls  to  mind  those 
expressive  lines  of  Doubleday's, 

"How  massively  doth  awful  nature  pile 
The  living  rock." 

Keeping  watch  over  the  rear  of  the  Valley,  even  as  El 
Capitan  guards  The  Gateway,  the  ponderous  immobility 
of  this  monster  of  granite  inspires  a  feeling  which  defies 
analysis.  From  everywhere  in  the  upper  end  of  the 
Valley  the  eye  is  constantly  drawn  back  to  its  impressive 
bulk,  and  who  can  doubt  that  if  we  were  given,  as  was 
the  heathen,  to  the  practice  of  endowing  with  the  per 
sonality  and  powers  of  a  Deity  inanimate  objects  of 
stone  and  wood,  this  inexpressibly  sublime  mountain 
would  now  be  an  object  of  worship. 

Until  the  fall  of  1875  the  cloud-draped  top  of  Half 
Dome  had  never  known  the  tread  of  human  foot.  The 
ascent  had  baffled  the  attempts  of  all  and  sundry  until 
it  was  accomplished  in  that  year  by  Captain  George 
Anderson.  Captain  Anderson  was  at  that  time  a  resident 
of  the  Valley,  and  it  had  been  his  desire  since  his  arrival 
to  scale  the  magnificent  peak,  not  alone  because  of  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  man  to  reach  the  top,  but 
because  it  was  tacitly  understood  that  to  the  man 
attaining  this  distinction  would  be  granted  a  concession 
for  building  a  hotel  at  the  eastern  base  of  the  dome.  In 
his  effort  Captain  Anderson  was  opposed  by  some  two  or 
three  others  who  were  actuated  by  the  same  desire. 

[86] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

One  might  almost  wish  that  such  a  creditable  ambition 
had  been  inspired  by  a  less  mercenary  motive.  However, 
be  that  as  it  may,  one  day  Captain  Anderson  disappeared 
from  the  Valley  without  having  told  anyone  of  his  in 
tended  departure  or  destination.  This  procedure  was 
in  those  days  unusual,  and  after  some  two  or  three  days 
had  elapsed  without  him  having  put  in  an  appearance, 
grave  fears  were  felt  for  his  safety  and  a  search  party  was 
organized  to  look  for  him.  This  party,  composed  of  several 
residents  of  the  Valley,  concluded  that  the  most  logical 
place  to  look  for  Captain  Anderson  was  in  the  vicinity 
of  Half  Dome,  and  accordingly  proceeded  in  that  di 
rection  along  the  old  trail  past  Happy  Isles  and  Vernal 
and  Nevada  Falls.  On  the  trail  near  Nevada  Falls  they 
met  Captain  Anderson  returning  to  the  Valley,  and  in 
answer  to  a  query  as  to  where  he  had  been,  he  said, 
" Gentlemen,  I  have  been  to  the  top  of  Half  Dome." 
One  can  almost  imagine  the  skeptical  cynicism  with 
which  this  statement  was  greeted.  Here  were  a  number 
of  hardy  western  pioneers,  inured  to  hardship  and  danger, 
and  skilled  in  the  ways  of  the  mountains,  who  for  days 
had  exhausted  every  effort  to  accomplish  just  what  this 
genial  Captain  was  so  calmly  claiming  to  have  done. 
But  Captain  Anderson  smilingly  promised  that  on  the 
following  day  he  would  lead  the  party  to  the  top  and 
they  went  back  to  the  Valley  and  to  their  homes,  hardly 
knowing  whether  to  believe  or  not.  However,  on  the 
following  morning  the  party  was  again  organized  and 
proceeded  along  the  old  trail  to  the  eastern  base  of  the 

[87] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

dome,  where  a  strange  sight  met  their  gaze.  Placed  at 
regular  intervals  in  an  unbroken  line  straight  up  the 
glacier  polished  surface  of  the  dome  were  a  succession  of 
small  iron  pegs,  from  each  of  which  dangled  a  short 
length  of  rope.  Captain  Anderson  had  conceived  this 
idea  after  days  of  the  most  painstaking  exploration  had 
failed  to  disclose  any  other  way  to  the  top.  Taking  no 
one  into  his  confidence,  he  had,  alone  and  unaided,  gath 
ered  his  materials,  transported  them  over  the  ten  miles 
of  rough  trail  to  the  beginning  of  his  ascent,  fashioned 
the  pegs,  and  slowly,  step  by  step,  had  drilled  the  holes 
and  built  himself  a  ladder,  nine  hundred  feet  long,  to  the 
coveted  summit.  Can  anyone  imagine  the  sensations  with 
which  he  reached  his  goal?  The  glories  of  the  crags  and 
peaks  of  the  region  seem  if  possible  to  be  increased  when 
their  summits  are  reached  by  difficult  and  perilous 
climbing.  Aside  from  the  satisfaction  arising  from  the 
accomplishment  of  a  difficult  task,  let  us  hope  he  had  his 
reward  in  the  knowledge  that  never  before  had  human 
foot  trod  the  rock  on  which  he  stood — that  never  before 
had  human  eye  from  that  far  height  ranged  over  the 
panorama  of  inspiring  grandeur  that  was  spread  about 
him. 

Captain  Anderson,  with  the  characteristic  unselfishness 
of  the  typical  westerner  of  his  time,  immediately  set 
about  building  a  ladder  to  the  top  so  that  all  might  share 
with  him  this  great  privilege.  But,  while  engaged  in  the 
work  of  preparing  timbers  for  the  ladder,  he  sickened  and 
died.  For  many  years  his  original  ladder  was  the  only 

[88] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

means  of  attaining  the  summit,  but  his  dream  of  a  stair 
way  by  which  all  could  reach  the  top  in  safety,  was 
finally  carried  out  through  the  erection  by  The  Sierra 
Club,  of  a  cable  stairway,  composed  of  two  steel  cables 
anchored,  at  a  height  of  about  three  feet,  to  iron  stan 
chions  imbedded  at  intervals  of  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  the 
granite.  Up  this  stairway  countless  feet  have  climbed  to 
the  spot  on  which  Captain  Anderson  stood,  and  the  fame 
of  the  view  to  be  had  from  that  spot  has  crept  abroad 
o'er  all  the  world.  And  well  it  might,  for  if  it  be  true  that 
"Yosemite  has  not  a  rival  on  this  earth,"  so  is  this  view 
the  culminating  crown  of  scenic  grandeur. 

There  is  not  only  the  breath-taking  depth  into  which 
one  may  gaze,  where  a  noble  river  is  dwarfed  into  a  sil 
very  thread,  where  ten  acre  meadows  look  like  postage 
stamps,  where  lakes  take  on  the  appearance  of  tiny  pearls, 
and  a  myriad  of  trees  of  noble  girth  and  height  are 
blended  into  a  living  carpet  of  green,  but  the  veritable 
forest  of  innumerable  pinnacles  of  granite,  of  lordly 
peaks  wrapped  in  a  panoply  of  snow  and  cloud,  of  beauti 
ful  lakes  sprinkled  like  a  carelessly  thrown  handful  of 
emeralds  among  legions  and  legions  of  magnificent  trees 
that  stretch  away  to  the  very  horizon  verge.  The  whole 
preeminently  glorious  scene  sleeping,  eternal,  changeless, 
under  an  unchanging  sky,  and  over  it  all  the  brooding, 
unbroken,  trancelike,  listening  silence  of  the  far  places  of 
the  earth. 


89 


THE    LORE   AND    THE    LURE    OF    THE    YO SEMITE 
NORTH  DOME  AND  BASKET  DOME 

Facing  Half  Dome  across  Te-na-ya  Canyon  stands 
North  Dome,  called  by  the  Indians,  because  of  its  re 
semblance  to  an  upturned  water  basket,  To-ko-ya,  or 
"water  basket."  In  the  formation  of  North  Dome  and  its 
neighbor,  Basket  Dome,  the  observant  may  read  the  rec 
ord  left  by  the  glaciers  during  the  ages  when  America  was 
in  the  making.  Two  perfect  domes,  glacier  polished, 
glistening,  rising  side  by  side  above  Washington  Column 
and  The  Royal  Arches,  they  are  conspicuous  from  nearly 
the  entire  floor  of  the  Valley. 

Just  below  Washington  Column  and  near  The  Royal 
Arches,  the  adventurous  explorer  will  find  an  old  cave 
formed  by  the  talus  from  the  surrounding  cliffs.  Into  these 
caves  members  of  the  Mariposa  Battalion,  when  on  their 
second  expedition  into  the  Valley  in  1851,  pursued  a  band 
of  hostile  Indians.  The  volunteer  soldiers  closed  around 
the  mouth  of  the  cave,  confident  that  at  last  they  had 
their  quarry  trapped,  but  upon  venturing  into  the  cave 
they  found  in  the  rear  a  narrow  opening  through  which 
the  Indians  had  passed  and  made  their  escape  to  the 
cliffs  above.  A  few  of  the  soldiers  started  in  pursuit,  but 
the  Indians,  hidden  near  the  top  of  the  cliff,  rolled  rocks 
down  upon  them,  injuring  one  and  knocking  a  rifle  from 
the  hand  of  another,  and  after  a  chance  shot  had  killed 
one  of  the  Indians,  the  soldiers  withdrew,  taking  their 
wounded  companion  with  them  to  their  camp  in  the 
Valley,  and  the  chase  was  given  up  for  the  day. 

[90] 


Sentinel  Rock  (or  Loiyd)  and  the  Merced  River. 
See  page  81,     Legend  page  122% 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

Lying  inside  near  the  mouth  of  the  cave  may  be  seen  a 
large  block  of  granite,  which  still  bears  marks  of  its  use 
by  the  artisans  of  long  ago  as  an  anvil  in  the  fashioning  of 
their  arrowheads  and  tomahawks. 

X 

HAPPY  ISLES 

Here  is  Yosemite's  favorite  picnic  ground.  Situated  in 
the  far  eastern  end  of  the  Valley,  at  the  mouth  of  Merced 
Canyon,  within  easy  walking  distance  of  hotels  and 
camps,  and  on  the  Valley  auto  road,  this  is  a  favorit 
haunt  of  those  for  whom  the  mountain  trails  are  too 
strenuous,  or  those  who  wish  a  day  of  rest  after  more 
fatiguing  work  on  the  harder  trails.  Here  every  day 
during  the  season  will  be  found  scores  of  people.  By  auto, 
horse,  and  on  foot  they  come,  bringing  their  lunches  with 
them,  to  while  away  the  long  sunshiny  hours,  to  revel  in 
the  beauty  surrounding  them  on  every  hand,  and  even 
to  be  lulled  by  the  songful  music  of  the  tumbling  water 
into  a  restful  nap  on  the  bosom  of  old  mother  earth.  No 
matter  how  high  the  mercury  may  climb  in  other  parts 
of  the  Valley,  this  shady  island  retreat,  fanned  by  zephyrs 
cooled  by  their  frolic  with  the  leaping  cascades  of  the 
river,  is  always  refreshingly  cool.  An  afternoon  spent 
there  serves  to  convince  one  of  the  truth  of  the  statement 
that  there  seems  to  be  no  spot  in  the  Valley  from  which 
one  hasn't  some  inspiring  view  spread  before  him,  no 
foot  of  ground  that  does  not  hold  some  novelty  to  charm. 
John  Muir  called  the  Merced  River  "One  of  the  world's 
most  songful  streams."  And  to  look  upon  "the  laughing 

[93] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

waters  of  Happy  Isles,"  to  watch  the  foam-crested  waves 
and  curling  eddies  of  the  whirling  river,  and  listen  to  the 
deep  refrain  of  its  tumultuous  song  as  it  rushes  recklessly 
down  its  boulder  strewn  course,  is  only  another  proof  of 
this  beloved  old  man's  faculty  for  bestowing  appropriately 
descriptive  titles. 

In  the  early  spring  when  the  river  is  swollen  by  rains 
and  melting  snow  in  the  high  Sierras,  and  the  waters 
come  pouring  out  of  Merced  Canyon  to  split  around  the 
isles  and  go  rushing  by,  the  roar  of  their  passage  over  the 
rocky  bed  around  the  isles  drowns  the  sound  of  the  human 
voice.  But,  regardless  of  how  high  the  stream  may  rise, 
and  it  conies  up  sometimes  with  almost  incredible  swift 
ness,  the  water  is  seldom  muddy.  This  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  watershed  of  the  Merced  is  almost  solid  granite. 
July  is  especially  a  happy  month  at  Happy  Isles,  as  it  is 
during  this  month  the  white  azaleas  are  in  bloom.  Here, 
too,  is  the  beginning  of  that  pathway  of  wonders,  the 
trail  to  the  high  Sierras,  which  takes  its  winding  way  up 
past  Vernal  and  Nevada  Falls.  From  a  point  a  short 
half  hour  walk  up  this  trail  one  commands  a  splendid 
view  of  Illilouette  Fall,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
picturesque  in  the  region. 

MIRROR  LAKE 

Mirror  Lake,  lying  at  the  base  of  Half  Dome  and  in 
the  mouth  of  Te-na-ya  Canyon,  is  one  of  the  real  show 
places  of  the  Valley.  A  trip  there  is  one  of  the  most 
satisfying  and  wholly  delightful  of  the  entire  itinerary  of 

[94] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

Yosemite.  To  see  the  lake  at  its  best,  when  the  reflections 
are  clearest  and  the  mirror  upon  its  quiet  bosom  is  most 
nearly  perfect,  this  trip  should  be  made  before  sunrise. 
At  first  sight  the  lake,  owing  to  its  small  size,  is  slightly 
disappointing,  but  this  is  soon  lost  sight  of  and  forgotten 
in  admiration  for  the  intrinsic  loveliness  of  its  setting. 
To  have  witnessed  a  sunrise  at  Mirror  Lake  is  to  have 
seen  one  of  the  most  incomparably  lovely  sights  the 
world  has  to  offer.  In  the  distance  on  the  right  stands 
Clouds  Rest,  its  top  scraping  the  blue  six  thousand  feet 
above  the  lake,  while  close  at  hand,  towering  up  nearly 
five  thousand  feet,  the  lofty  over-shadowing  wall  of  Half 
Dome  rears  its  imposing  bulk,  and  casts  its  mile  long 
reflection  in  the  mirror.  On  the  other  hand  Mount  Wat- 
kins  throws  its  four  thousand  foot  image,  presenting 
thus  eight  thousand  feet  of  grandeur  to  our  gaze. 

Contrary  to  the  general  belief  the  reflections  in  Mirror 
Lake  are  not  due  to  any  great  depth  of  water,  the  lake 
in  reality  being  very  shallow,  nor  to  its  black  sand 
bottom,  but  are  caused  by  the  shadows  thrown  across 
the  lake  by  the  surrounding  cliffs.  And  so  perfectly  does 
the  water  mirror  its  surroundings  that  it  is  difficult  at 
times  to  tell  where  mountain  stops  and  water  line  begins. 
Another  reason  for  making  Mirror  Lake  the  object  of  an 
early  morning  visit  is  that  a  breeze  usually  springs  up 
during  the  middle  of  the  day,  ruffling  the  surface  of  the 
water,  and  rendering  the  reflections  indistinct  or  invisible. 

The  lake  is  slowly  being  filled  by  the  silt  and  decom 
posed  granite  washed  down  by  the  waters  of  Te-na-ya 

[95] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

Creek,  and  probably  in  the  course  of  fifty  or  seventy-five 
years,  unless  some  preventive  measures  are  taken,  will 
be  completely  filled.  However,  here  is  a  spot  of  unequalled 
charm,  without  a  counterpart  on  earth  yet  seen  by  man, 
and  to  have  visited  Yosemite  without  having  seen  at  least 
one  sunrise  in  this  beautiful  little  lake,  which  the  Indians 
of  the  region  have  so  picturesquely  named  Ah-wei-yah, 
meaning  "quiet  water,"  is  to  have  missed  the  real  soul  of 
Yosemite. 

CLOUDS  REST 

Clouds  Rest,  the  grim,  helmeted  Captain  of  the 
immediate  Sierra,  sloping  gradually  from  its  base  at  the 
bed  of  Te-na-ya  Creek,  to  its  summit  six  thousand  feet 
above  the  floor  of  the  Valley,  is  one  of  the  most  majestic 
of  all  the  beautiful  peaks  of  the  region. 

From  its  lofty  summit  one's  view  of  the  surrounding 
country  is  only  limited  by  the  range  of  one's  vision.  From 
here  one  may  look  out  over  a  chaotic  massing  of  noble 
mountains,  over  cone-shaped  and  castle-shaped  peaks  of 
every  shade  of  blue  and  gray  and  purple,  and  down 
enormous  gorges  that  are  fiery  green  in  the  sun  at  the 
top  and  black  as  black  velvet  in  the  dark  at  the  bottom, 
with  here  and  there  a  streak  of  foamy  white  showing  to 
mark  the  course  of  some  stream  on  its  way  to  the  sea. 
Far  off  to  the  northeast  can  be  seen  the  water  of  Te-na-ya 
Lake,  lessened  by  distance  and  gleaming  like  turquoise 
in  its  setting  of  emerald  forest  and  gray  granite,  while 
to  the  east  Merced  Lake  can  be  seen  nestling  in  its 
glacier- worn  basin. 

[961 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

The  summit  of  Clouds  Rest  is  sometimes  the  rendez 
vous  of  storm  clouds.  The  first  to  arrive  is  usually  a  fleecy, 
harmless  looking  little  fellow,  but  he  is  quickly  joined  by 
other,  more  business-like  ones.  Seemingly  out  of  nowhere 
they  gather  and  mass  their  ranks  until  in  a  few  minutes 
the  top  of  the  mountain  is  enveloped  in  their  billowy 
folds.  In  a  remarkably  short  time  foaming  streams  form 
on  the  slopes  to  go  rushing  and  tumbling  down  into 
Te-na-ya  Creek  and  dwindle  to  nothing  in  the  space  of 
half  an  hour.  In  a  few  minutes,  while  one  wonders  at  the 
quickness  of  the  change,  the  clouds  are  gone  and  sunlight 
again  holds  the  field.  Fortunate  indeed  is  the  climber  who 
is  surrounded  by  one  of  these  mountain  storms.  They  are 
a  never  to  be  forgotten  experience.  Sometimes  the  sun  is 
shining  on  the  summit  and  one  can  look  down  upon  a 
sun-bathed  sea  of  cloud  with  here  and  there  the  top  of 
some  great  peak  lifting  through  like  an  island  of  refuge. 

A  good  bridle  trail  has  been  constructed  to  a  point  near 
the  top  of  Clouds  Rest,  from  which  the  remaining 
distance  can  be  made  on  foot  in  ease  and  safety.  Zig 
zagging  its  way  up  among  tremendous  granite  boulders, 
offering  at  every  turn  unrivaled  views  of  the  incompar 
able  country  lying  on  every  hand,  this  trail  is  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  in  the  region,  and  the  trip  one  that 
should  be  made  by  every  visitor  to  Yosemite  who  is 
desirous  of  going  away  with  a  real  comprehensive  idea  of 
the  extent  and  magnificence  of  the  country  comprising 
the  Park. 


97 


CHAPTER  6 

SUNSET  IN  THE  YOSEMITE 

^T^HERE  are  times,  and  they  do  not  come  often, 
•*•  when  the  cup  of  our  life  is  full  to  the  brim,  and  one 
added  drop  would  be  too  much;  when  the  heart  swings 
to  the  deepest  throb,  when  speech  is  forgotten  in  divine 
communion,  and  the  soul  mounts  to  the  heights  of  the 
infinite.  How  long  this  lasts  we  never  afterwards  can  say. 
Such  an  interval  as  this  is  a  sunset  in  Yosemite. 

All  sense  of  time  is  lost  in  the  golden  enchantment,  the 
overpowering  sense  of  sublimity,  of  awful  majesty,  of 
sheer,  brutal  strength  and  power,  of  softness  and  light 
and  warmth,  of  intrinsic  beauty,  fantastic  loveliness,  and 
charm  beyond  compare.  Fairyland  itself  must  be  some 
where  out  there  in  the  golden  glow  of  the  sunset.  Rolling 
stretches  of  flower-strewn  meadows,  broad  seas  of  green 
grass  rippling  away  in  emerald  waves,  row  after  row  of 
tall,  magnificent  trees  quivering  in  a  shower  of  sunlight. 
Rising  from  the  river  in  gray  gossamer  shapes  the  mist 
goes  curling,  smoky,  diaphanous,  mysterious,  as  though 
graves  beneath  the  water  are  giving  up  their  ghosts. 

[98] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

From  high  overhead  a  bird  bursts  into  rhapsody, 
singing  a  pean  of  praise  to  the  glory  that  is  Yosemite; 
another,  and  another,  until  their  songs  merge  into  one, 
and  the  passionate,  poignant  sweetness  of  one  of  Schu 
bert's  serenades  seems  to  drip  from  the  eirie  heights  to 
linger  vibrantly  upon  the  mellow  air  and  melt  reluctantly 
at  last  into  throbbing  silence. 

Embattled  'round  the  rim  of  the  Valley,  too  rosy  and 
golden,  and  purple  and  blue,  for  anything  but  the  towers 
and  turrets,  and  palaces,  of  some  enchanted  land,  the 
majestic  mountains  rear  their  hoary  snow-crowned  heads. 
While  bands  of  rose  and  saffron,  and  bloody  reds,  and 
lurid  purples,  are  melting  into  liquid  gold  and  gilding 
all  the  forest  with  their  radiance,  the  molten  sun,  swim 
ming  in  a  haze  of  glory,  turns  red  before  slipping  from 
sight,  staying  the  receding  fingers  of  its  luminous  hand 
as  if  hesitant  to  depart.  Five  thousand  feet  above  the 
Valley  floor,  the  majestic  bulk  of  Half  Dome  is  burnished 
by  the  last  golden  rays  reflected  from  the  snow-capped 
peaks  above.  Twilight  creeps  into  the  Valley,  an  ad 
vancing  army  robed  in  royal  purple.  Stars  stud  the 
heavens,  a  pale  moon  appears  on  the  horizon;  in  an  in 
stant  the  day  has  vanished  and  murky  dusk  has  come. 

Night  falls  like  a  soft  concealing  curtain  about  you, 
crickets  and  katydids  sing  a  dreamy  chorus,  out  in  the 
gloomy  dusk  a  coyote  raises  his  nose  to  the  moon  and 
voices  the  age-old  protest  of  his  race  against  the  loneliness 
and  sorrow  of  their  lot,  the  breezes  bring  a  faint  perfume 
from  flower-spangled  fields,  the  trees  softly  shed  their 

[99] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

blighted  leaves  and  sigh  together  over  the  folly  of  the 
world.  Night  and  the  stars  and  dusky  isolation;  a  wild 
longing  to  turn  back  the  years,  to  wipe  out  the  ugly, 
blundering  stains  of  mistakes  and  follies,  to  begin  again 
and  to  build  grandly,  surely,  relentlessly,  with  wanton 
prodigality  of  strength  and  material.  And,  though 
blinded,  groping  hands  reach  ever  for  a  mirage,  though 
years  in  their  cycle  of  flight  leave  arms  clasping  only 
pallid  mocking  ghosts  of  disillusion,  the  spell  that  is 
Yosemite  is  proof  against  all  disillusionment,  and  though 
you  may  never  visit  the  Valley  again,  the  bond  her  beauty 
has  woven  into  your  very  soul  will  never  be  broken. 


100] 


CHAPTER  7 

INDIAN  MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS 
THE  LEGEND  OF  TUL-TOK-A-NA 

MANY,  many  moons  ago,  two  little  bear  cubs  slipped 
away  from  their  mother  and  went  swimming  in 
the  river  that  winds  its  way  through  the  Valley  of  Ah- 
wah-nee.  When  they  had  finished  their  swim  they  lay 
down  on  a  rock  to  dry  themselves  in  the  sun.  After  a 
while  they  fell  asleep,  and  as  they  slept  the  rock  on  which 
they  lay  began  to  grow,  but  they  did  not  wake  up,  and 
the  rock  grew  and  grew,  and  lifted  them  up  until  they 
reached  the  sky. 

When  the  old  mother  bear  missed  her  cubs  she  was 
frantic  with  grief,  and  all  of  the  animals  assembled  at 
the  base  of  the  rock  to  try  and  rescue  the  little  brothers 
and  bring  them  down  again  to  the  Valley.  One  after 
another  the  animals  tried,  by  springing  up  the  face  of 
the  rock,  to  reach  the  little  brothers,  but  even  the  mighty 
monarch  of  the  forests,  the  grizzly  bear,  with  all  of  his 
tremendous  strength,  and  the  cougar,  with  all  of  his 
leaping  power,  fell  far  short  of  the  top. 

flOl] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

When  all  attempts  had  failed,  and  the  animals  had 
given  up  in  despair,  along  came  the  little  tul-tok-a-na, 
the  measuring  worm,  the  most  humble  of  all  the  forest 
creatures,  and  started  up  the  side  of  the  rock.  Inch  by 
inch  he  drew  himself  up  until  he  had  passed  the  highest 
jump  of  the  animals,  up  and  up  until  he  had  passed  from 
sight.  He  crawled  day  and  night  until  at  last  he  reached 
the  top,  and  brought  the  little  bear  brothers  down  in 
safety  to  the  Valley.  And  in  honor  of  the  little  measuring 
worm  the  rock  has  ever  since  been  known  to  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  Ah-wah-nee  as  Tul-tok-a-nu-la. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  TO-TAU-KON-NU'LA  AND  TIS-SA-ACK 

Unnumbered  snows  have  come  and  gone  since  The 
Great  Spirit  led  a  band  of  his  favorite  children  into  the 
mountains,  and  bade  them  rest  in  this  beautiful  Valley 
of  Ah-wah-nee.  They  were  weary  and  footsore,  and  were 
glad  to  rest  after  their  long  journey.  Here  they  found  food 
in  abundance.  The  streams  held  swarms  of  fish,  meadows 
were  knee-deep  in  sweet  clover,  great  herds  of  deer 
roamed  the  forests  in  the  Valley,  and  on  the  high  moun 
tains,  oak  trees  were  bending  under  the  weight  of  their 
acorns,  grass  seeds  and  wild  fruits  and  berries  grew  in 
bountiful  profusion.  Here  they  stayed  and  built  their 
villages.  They  were  happy,  and  multiplied,  and  prospered 
and  became  a  great  nation. 

To  their  chief  came  a  little  son  to  gladden  his  heart. 
They  wanted  this  son  to  become  a  great  chief,  capable 
of  the  leadership  of  a  great  people.  He  was  made  to  sleep 

[102] 


Yo-sem-i-te  Fall  (Cholak)  and  Lost  Arrow  }Dummo}. 
See  page  81.     Legend  page  110. 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

in  the  robes  of  the  skins  of  the  beaver  and  the  coyote, 
that  he  might  grow  wise  in  building  and  keen  of  scent. 
As  he  grew  older  he  was  fed  the  meat  of  the  fish,  that  he 
might  become  a  strong  swimmer,  and  the  flesh  of  the 
deer,  that  he  might  be  light  and  swift  of  foot.  He  was 
made  to  eat  the  eggs  of  the  great  crane,  that  he  might 
be  keen  of  sight.  He  was  wrapped  in  the  skin  of  the 
monarch  of  the  forest,  the  grizzly  bear,  that  he  might 
grow  up  fearless  and  strong  in  combat. 

And,  when  he  grew  to  manhood,  he  was  a  great  chief 
and  beloved  of  all  the  people.  His  people  prepared  for 
him  a  lofty  throne  on  the  crown  of  the  great  rock  which 
guards  The  Gateway  of  the  Valley,  and  he  was  called 
To-tau-kon-nu-la,  after  the  great  cranes  that  lived  in 
the  meadow  near  the  top.  The  people  of  Ah-wah-nee 
were  happy,  for  To-tau-kon-nu-la  was  a  wise  and  a  good 
ruler.  From  his  high  rocky  throne  he  kept  watch  over 
the  Valley  and  the  people  whom  he  loved.  He  called  on 
The  Great  Spirit  who  sent  timely  rains,  so  that  the  acorns 
grew  in  abundance,  the  hunters  returned  from  the  forests 
with  game,  and  the  fishermen  from  the  streams  with  fish. 
There  was  peace  and  plenty  throughout  the  Valley  of 
Ah-wah-nee,  and  when  To-tau-kon-nu-la  held  speech 
with  his  people  from  his  high  throne  his  voice  was  deep 
and  strong  like  the  deep  sound  of  the  waterfall. 

One  day  as  To-tau-kon-nu-la  sat  gazing  into  the 
glowing  colors  of  the  west,  he  saw  approaching  his  valley 
a  strange  people,  led  by  a  maiden  of  wondrous  loveliness. 
He  called  to  them  and  the  maiden  answered  him,  saying, 

[1051 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

"It  is  I,  Tis-sa-ack.  We  have  come  from  the  land  of  my 
people  in  the  far  south  to  visit  with  you.  We  have  heard 
of  the  great  and  good  chief,  To-tau-kon-nu-la,  of  his 
great  people  and  his  wonderful  valley.  We  bring  presents 
of  baskets  and  beads  and  skins.  After  we  have  rested 
we  will  return  to  my  people  in  the  far  south."  To-tau- 
kon-nu-la  welcomed  the  fair  visitor  from  the  land  to  the 
south  and  had  prepared  for  her  and  her  people  a  home  on 
the  summit  of  the  great  dome  at  the  eastern  end  of  the 
Valley.  There  she  stayed  and  taught  the  women  of 
Ah-wah-nee  the  arts  of  her  people.  To-tau-kon-nu-la 
visited  her  often  in  her  mountain  home.  He  was  charmed 
by  her  wonderful  beauty  and  sweetness,  and  begged  her 
to  stay  and  become  his  wife,  but  she  denied  him,  saying: 
"No,  I  must  soon  return  with  my  people  to  their  home  in 
the  far  south."  And,  when  To-tau-kon-nu-la  grew  im 
portunate  in  his  wooing,  she  left  her  home  in  the  night 
and  was  never  seen  again. 

When  the  great  chief  knew  that  she  was  gone,  a  terrible 
loneliness  and  sorrow  came  to  him,  and  he  wandered 
away  through  the  forests  in  search  of  her,  forgetting  his 
people  in  Ah-wah-nee.  So  strong  was  his  love  for  her,  and 
so  deep  his  sorrow,  that  he  forgot  to  call  upon  The 
Great  Spirit  to  send  the  timely  rains.  So  great  was  his 
neglect  that  the  streams  grew  smaller  and  smaller  and 
finally  became  dry.  The  crops  failed.  The  hunters 
came  back  from  the  forests  without  meat,  and  the 
fishermen  returned  from  the  streams  empty-handed. 
The  leaves  and  the  green  acorns  fell  from  the  trees, 

[106] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

and  [the  bright  flowers  and  green  grasses  became  dry 
and  brown. 

The  Great  Spirit  became  very  angry  with  To-tau-kon- 
nu-la.  The  earth  trembled  with  his  wrath  so  that  the 
rocks  fell  down  into  the  Valley  from  the  surrounding 
cliffs.  The  sky  and  the  mountains  belched  forth  smoke 
and  flame.  The  great  dome  that  had  been  the  home  of 
Tis-sa-ack,  was  rent  asunder  and  half  of  it  fell  into  the 
Valley.  The  melting  snows  from  the  high  mountains 
came  down  into  the  Valley  in  a  flood  and  drowned  hun 
dreds  of  the  people.  But  the  wrath  of  The  Great  Spirit 
was  quickly  spent,  and  the  heavens  again  grew  quiet. 
The  floods  receded,  the  sun  shone,  and  once  more  peace 
and  calm  reigned  over  Ah-wah-nee.  The  life-giving  mois 
ture  from  the  renewed  streams  crept  into  the  parched 
soil.  The  oak  trees  put  on  new  leaves  and  acorns.  The 
grasses  again  became  fresh  and  green,  the  flowers  lifted 
their  drooping  heads  and  took  on  their  old  gay  colors. 
The  fish  came  back  to  the  streams,  and  the  game  to  the 
forests. 

And,  when  the  Valley  was  once  again  clothed  in  beauty 
and  plenty,  there  appeared  on  the  rent  face  of  the  dome 
which  had  been  her  home,  the  beautiful  face  of  Tis-sa- 
ack,  where  it  can  still  be  seen  to  this  day.  And  the  dome 
was  named  Tis-sa-ack,  in  memory  of  the  fair  visitor  who 
had  been  loved  by  all  the  people  of  Ah-wah-nee.  At  the 
same  time,  that  all  might  hold  his  memory  in  their  hearts, 
there  appeared  on  the  face  of  the  great  rock  supporting 
his  throne,  the  majestic  figure  of  the  great  chief,  dressed 

[107] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

in  a  flowing  robe  and  pointing  a  finger  to  where  he  had 
gone,  to  El-o-win,  the  happy  land  beyond  the  setting  sun. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  LOST  ARROW 

Kos-su-kah,  a  young  chief  of  the  Ah-wah-nee-chees, 
smiled  upon  a  maiden,  Tee-hee-nay.  Kos-su-kah  was 
tall  and  strong  and  brave.  Among  all  the  sons  of  Ah-wah- 
nee  there  was  none  so  keen  of  sight,  so  swift  of  foot,  or  so 
skilled  in  the  use  of  the  bow  and  the  arts  of  the  chase. 
Tee-hee-nay  was  the  fairest  and  most  beautiful  of  all  the 
fair  daughters  of  Ah-wah-nee.  She  was  tall  and  slender 
as  the  fir,  and  as  graceful  and  supple  as  the  stem  of  the 
azalea.  Her  hands  and  feet  were  small  and  beautifully 
shaped,  her  silken  hair  was  black  as  a  moonless  night  and 
fell  in  a  cloud  to  her  knees.  Her  eyes  were  luminous 
pools  of  light,  and  her  voice  was  liquid  in  its  sweetness. 
Her  laugh  was  like  the  musical  tinkling  of  the  brook,  and 
she  was  good  as  she  was  beautiful. 

Tee-hee-nay  smiled  upon  the  handsome  Kos-su-kah, 
thereby  confessing  her  love  for  him,  and  nothing  remained 
but  the  formal  presentation,  by  Kos-su-kah,  of  suitable 
gifts  to  her  parents,  and  the  preparation  of  a  feast  to 
celebrate  their  wedding.  Kos-su-kah's  suit  was  approved 
by  the  parents  of  Tee-hee-nay  and  the  lovers  were  filled 
with  joy.  They  began  preparations  immediately  for  a 
royal  wedding  feast.  To  do  this  Tee-hee-nay,  assisted  by 
the  maidens  of  the  tribe,  would  gather  acorns  and  prepare 
the  acorn  bread  and  mush,  collect  grass  seeds,  wild  fruits 
and  edible  roots;  while  Kos-su-kah  should  gather  about 

[108] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

him  the  best  hunters  of  his  tribe  and  participate  in  a  big 
hunt  on  the  high  mountains  that  there  might  be  an  abun 
dance  of  meat  for  the  feast,  to  which  the  entire  tribe 
would  be  invited. 

Before  saying  their  good-byes  it  was  agreed  between 
them  that  at  sunset  Kos-su-kah  should  go  to  the 
column  of  rock  which  stands  just  to  the  east  of  Cho-lak 
(Yosemite  Fall),  and  from  there  launch  from  his  strong 
bow  into  the  Valley  an  arrow,  bearing  on  its  shaft  grouse 
feathers  corresponding  in  number  to  the  deer  that  had 
fallen  before  the  skill  of  himself  and  his  companions.  That 
she  might  mark  the  flight  of  the  arrow  and  the  spot  of  its 
falling,  and  thus  be  the  first  to  carry  news  of  the  success 
of  the  hunt  to  her  tribe,  Tee-hee-nay  was  to  go  at  sunset 
to  the  base  of  the  cliff  and  there  watch  for  the  signal. 

After  a  most  successful  hunt,  while  his  companions 
were  making  camp  for  the  night,  and  preparing  their 
game  for  transportation  down  to  the  Valley,  Kos-su- 
kah  made  his  way  to  the  point  agreed  upon,  prepared 
the  signal  arrow,  and  was  just  ready  to  send  it  on  its 
mission  into  the  Valley,  when  the  cliff's  edge  on  which  he 
was  standing,  gave  way,  carrying  him  with  it  and  hurling 
him  to  his  death  on  the  rocks  below. 

After  the  seemingly  endless  day  of  waiting,  Tee-hee- 
nay  made  her  way  to  the  appointed  spot,  and  as  the  sun 
went  down  behind  the  cliffs,  stood  straining  her  eyes  up 
to  the  heights,  hoping  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  manly 
form  of  her  lover.  But  when  night  had  settled  his  dusky 
mantle  over  the  Valley,  Kos-su-kah  had  failed  to  appear, 

[109] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

and  no  signal  arrow  had  winged  its  way  down  from  the 
cliff  above.  Thinking  that  the  chase  had  led  him  farther 
afield  than  they  had  anticipated,  that  he  had  been  unable 
to  reach  the  cliff  before  darkness,  and,  knowing  that  his 
signal  arrow  would  not  be  seen,  he  was,  even  now,  mak 
ing  his  way  down  the  boulder  strewn  trail  of  Indian 
Canyon  to  deliver  in  person  his  message,  she  bounded 
up  the  trail  hoping  to  meet  him.  Over  rocks  and  fallen 
trees  from  ledge  to  ledge,  over  precipices  where  a  mis 
step  meant  certain  death  she  hurried  until  at  last  she 
gained  the  foot  of  the  cliff  at  a  point  from  which,  should 
he  come,  she  could  not  miss  him.  There,  through  the 
long  hours  of  the  night,  she  waited  and  listened,  longing 
for  the  welcome  sound  of  his  footsteps  or  his  dear  voice, 
and  sending  winging  through  the  dark  void  of  the  night 
sobbing,  passionate  prayers  to  The  Great  Spirit  for  the 
safety  of  her  loved  one. 

But  when  the  first  rosy  fingers  of  dawn  lit  up  the 
eastern  sky  and  brought  no  sight  of  her  lover,  she  sprang 
like  a  deer  up  the  steep  trail  to  the  top  of  the  cliff,  and 
hurried  to  the  spot  from  which  the  signal  was  to  have 
been  given.  She  called  to  Kos-su-kah,  but  only  the  echo 
of  her  voice  came  back  in  answer  to  her  yearning  cry. 
Reaching  at  last  the  edge  of  the  cliff  she  came  to  the 
point  from  which  a  large  portion  had  but  recently  fallen 
away.  With  sobbing  breath  and  a  heart  numb  with  an 
awful  certainty,  she  forced  herself  to  look  over  the  edge, 
and  saw  lying  far  below,  the  blood-stained  lifeless  body 
of  her  lover. 

[110] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

Stunned  by  the  terrible  grief  of  her  loss  Tee-hee-nay 
built,  on  the  top  of  the  cliff,  a  signal  fire  and  summoned 
help  from  the  tribe  below.  The  heavy,  lagging  hours  of 
waiting  dragged  away,  and  at  last  the  asked  for  help 
arrived.  Preparations  were  at  once  made  for  the  recovery 
of  the  lifeless  body  of  Kos-su-kah.  A  rope  was  fashioned 
from  the  trunks  of  young  tamaracks  by  lashing  them 
together  with  the  thongs  of  the  deer  that  were  to  have 
furnished  the  meat  for  the  wedding  feast.  When  this  was 
finished  a  young  chief  prepared  to  descend,  but  Tee-hee- 
nay  pushed  him  aside.  She  herself  must  be  the  first  to 
reach  her  lover,  her  hands  the  ones  to  perform  this  sad 
service.  Th*e  sympathetic  braves  lowered  her  gently  down 
the  cliff  until  she  stood  beside  Kos-su-kah's  battered 
body.  After  gently  kissing  his  cold,  unresponsive  lips  she 
unwound  from  around  her  waist  the  thongs  of  deerskin 
and  bound  his  body  firmly  to  the  rope,  then  watched 
in  loving  anxiety  while  the  braves  gently  raised  him  to 
the  cliff  top.  The  rope  was  again  lowered  and  Tee-hee-nay 
was  drawn  up  to  the  side  of  her  dead  lover.  Then  she,  who 
up  to  this  time  had  been  so  brave,  gave  way  to  a  pas 
sionate  storm  of  grief.  Throwing  herself  across  the  body 
of  her  loved  one  she  entreated  him  to  speak  to  her,  sob 
bing  prayers  to  The  Great  Spirit  for  the  return  of  her 
dead.  After  a  while  her  cries  ceased  and  she  grew  quiet. 
When  gentle  hands  stooped  to  lift  her  she  fell  back  life 
less.  She  had  died  of  a  broken  heart  and  her  gentle  spirit 
had  winged  its  way  to  join  her  lover's  in  El-o-win,  the 
spirit  land_beyond  the  setting  sun. 

F1131 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

Reverent  hands  brought  the  two  bodies  of  the  lovers, 
now  reunited  in  death,  down  into  the  Valley,  placed  them 
side  by  side  upon  the  funeral  pyre,  and  scattered  their 
ashes  to  the  winds  of  Ah-wah-nee,  the  Valley  both  had 
loved.  The  signal  arrow  was  never  found,  having  been 
spirited  away  by  the  reunited  lovers  to  El-o-win  as  a 
memento  of  their  unfaltering  love.  And  in  memory  of 
the  beautiful  maiden  and  the  noble  chief,  the  slender 
spire  of  granite,  still  standing  there  near  the  spot  where 
Kos-su-kah's  body  was  found,  has  ever  since  been  known 
to  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Ah-wah-nee,  as  Hum-mo, 

or  the  lost  arrow. 

• 

THE  LEGEND  OF  TIS-SA-ACK 

Tis-sa-ack,  who  lived  in  a  far  away  country,  journeyed 
with  her  husband  to  the  Valley  of  Ah-wah-nee.  They  had 
crossed  the  high  mountains,  carrying  heavy  burdens,  and 
were  footsore  and  weary  from  their  long  journey.  They 
were  also  very  thirsty  and  were  hurrying  to  reach  the 
Valley,  that  they  might  drink  from  one  of  the  clear  lakes 
or  streams,  which  they  knew  would  be  found  there. 
When  at  last  they  reached  Ah-wei-yah  (Mirror  Lake), 
Tis-sa-ack,  who  was  ahead  of  her  husband,  sat  down  to 
drink.  Again  and  again  she  filled  her  basket,  and  drained 
it,  so  that  when  her  husband  reached  the  lake  she  had 
drunk  up  all  of  the  water  and  the  lake  was  dry.  When  he 
found  that  she  had  drunk  up  all  of  the  w;ater  her  husband 
became  very  angry,  and  forgetting  the  customs  of  his 
people,  he  beat  her  severely.  Tis-sa-ack  ran,  but  her 

U14] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

husband  ran  after  her  and  continued  to  beat  her  so  that 
she  laid  down  the  baby  basket  containing  her  papoose. 
Then,  when  he  did  not  stop,  becoming  very  angry  with 
the  pain  and  humiliation,  she  turned  and  hurled  her 
burden  basket  at  him. 

Then  The  Great  Spirit  himself,  shocked  by  such  con 
duct  on  the  part  of  his  children,  became  angry,  and  turned 
them  all  into  granite.  Tis-sa-ack  became  that  noble 
mountain  now  called  Half  Dome,  and  today  on  the 
broken  side  of  Half  Dome  can  still  be  seen  her  face  with 
the  tears  caused  by  her  pain  and  humiliation  streaming 
down  it.  Her  husband  was  changed  into  Washington 
Column  and  North  Dome,  while  beside  him,  the  up 
turned  burden  basket,  which  Tis-sa-ack  in  her  anger  had 
hurled  at  him,  became  Basket  Dome.  The  baby  basket 
containing  the  papoose,  which  had  been  kicked  aside 
during  the  trouble,  became  The  Royal  Arches,  and  there 
they  may  all  be  seen  today. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  PO-HO-NO 

Many  snows  have  come  and  gone  since  an  old  squaw 
and  a  maiden  of  Ah-wah-nee  were  picking  berries  along 
the  stream  above  Po-ho-no  (Bridal  Veil  Fall).  The 
maiden,  looking  down  the  stream  to  the  brink  of  the 
fall,  was  attracted  by  the  mists  whirling  high  into  the 
air.  Charmed  by  the  loveliness  of  the  vari-colored  cloud 
she  moved  down  the  stream  that  she  might  better  enjoy 
the  beautiful  scene.  Gazing  into  the  mists  she  was 
drawn,  as  if  hypnotized  by  some  evil  spirit,  nearer  and 

[115] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

nearer  the  brink,  until  the  whirling  winds,  with  a  shriek 
of  unholy  glee,  whipped  her  up  and  carried  her  over  the 
fall  to  her  death  on  the  rocks  below. 

The  old  squaw,  terrified  by  what  she  had  seen,  quickly 
made  her  way  down  the  cliff,  and  into  the  camp,  crying 
that  Po-ho-no,  "The  Spirit  of  the  Evil  Wind,"  had 
drawn  the  maiden  into  his  clutches.  The  old  chief  of 
Ah-wah-nee  then  warned  all  in  his  tribe  never  to  venture 
within  the  spray  or  mists  of  Po-ho-no,  as  it  was  the  abode 
of  an  evil  spirit  who  would  draw  them  to  their  death,  and 
carry  their  spirit  down  into  his  land  of  darkness  and 
misery,  there  to  hold  it  captive  until  he  secured  another. 

So  solemnly  was  this  warning  given  that  to  this  day 
no  one  has  ever  known  a  son  or  daughter  of  Ah-wah-nee 
to  venture  into  the  spray  or  mists  of  Po-ho-no. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  YO-SEM-I-TE 

Many  summers  and  winters  have  come  and  gone  since 
there  lived  in  the  Valley  of  Ah-wah-nee  a  large  and  power 
ful  people,  the  Ah-wah-nee-chees.  Long  had  they  dwelt 
there  in  peace  and  plenty,  but  one  sad  year  The  Great 
Spirit  became  angry  with  them.  There  was  famine  in  the 
Valley.  No  rain  fell,  and  the  acorn  crop  failed.  The  clover 
died  in  the  meadows,  and  the  game  disappeared  from  the 
surrounding  forests,  and  the  fish  from  the  streams.  The 
earth  trembled  and  the  rocks  fell  down  into  the  Valley 
from  the  surrounding  cliffs.  The  snows  melted  in  the 
high  mountains  and  the  floods  came  down  into  the  Valley. 
Many  of  the  tribe  were  killed  by  the  falling  rocks  or 

[116] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

drowned  in  the  swirling  waters.  Those  who  escaped 
death  fled  in  fear  from  the  Valley.  Some  of  them  made 
their  way  across  the  high  mountains  to  the  shores  of 
Mo-no  Lake,  and  dwelt  for  a  number  of  years  with  the 
Mo-no  tribe. 

A  young  chief  of  the  Ah-wah-nee-chees' married  a 
Mo-no  maiden,  and  to  them  a  son  was  born.  This  son 
they  called  Te-na-ya.  When  Te-na-ya.  had  grown  to 
manhood,  and  after  the  death  of  his  father,  an  old  man, 
one  of  his  father's  followers,  urged  him  to  gather  the 
remainder  of  his  people  and  return  across  the  mountains 
to  the  old  home  of  his  fathers  in  the  Valley  of  Ah-wah- 
nee,  which  was  now  his  own  by  right  of  birth. 

Te-na-ya  welcomed  this  suggestion  and  gathered  about 
him,  in  addition  to  his  own  people,  adventurous  members 
of  other  tribes,  who  were  willing  to  acknowledge  him  as 
chief,  and  make  the  journey  with  him.  They  crossed 
the  mountains  in  safety  and  once  again  the  smoke  from 
the  campfires  of  the  Ah-wah-nee-chees  was  lifted  on  the 
winds  of  the  Valley  that  had  so  long  before  been  the  home 
of  their  fathers. 

One  morning  a  young  chief  of  the  tribe,  while  on  his 
way  to  Ah-wei-yah  (Mirror  Lake),  where  he  intended 
spearing  some  fish,  was  suddenly  confronted  by  an 
immense  grizzly  bear.  The  bear  resented  this  intrusion 
upon  his  domain  and  made  a  fierce  attack  upon  the  young 
chief.  The  chief,  who  was  weaponless,  armed  himself  with 
the  dead  limb  of  a  tree,  which  was  lying  near,  and,  after 
being  sorely  wounded,  succeeded  in  killing  the  bear. 

[117] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

Bleeding  and  exhausted  he  drug  himself  back  to  the 
camp  where  he  told  his  story  to  the  admiring  members 
of  the  tribe,  who,  in  acknowledgment  of  his  bravery  and 
skill,  called  him  Yo-sem-i-te,  after  the  fearless  monarch 
of  the  forest,  the  grizzly  bear.  This  name  was  transmitted 
to  his  children,  and  in  time,  because  of  their  fearless  and 
warlike  natures,  the  entire  tribe  came  to  be  known  as 
the  Yo-sem-i-tes. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  PI-WY-ACK 

Each  year  when  the  leaves  turned  to  red  and  gold  and 
were  falling  from  the  trees  to  be  picked  up  and  whirled 
about  by  the  winds  of  Ah-wah-nee,  a  great  feast  was  held 
in  the  Valley,  to  which  came  the  neighboring  tribes.  As 
the  time  for  this  feast  drew  near  the  chief  of  the  Ah-wah- 
nee-chees  would  send  a  runner  across  the  mountains  to 
the  shores  of  Mo-no  Lake,  bearing  to  the  Mo-no  tribe 
an  invitation  to  be  the  guests  of  himself  and  his  people. 
This  runner  carried  with  him  a  bundle  of  small  willow 
sticks,  bound  about  with  thongs  of  deerskin,  and  corre 
sponding  in  number  to  the  suns  that  must  set  before  the 
day  of  the  feast.  For  each  sun  that  sank  into  the  west 
while  the  brave  made  his  journey  he  discarded  one  of 
these  sticks. 

One  year  when  the  time  for  the  feast  had  arrived  and 
the  tribes  were  gathered  about  the  campfires  enjoying 
the  generous  hospitality  of  the  Ah-wah-nee-chees,  a 
young  brave  of  Ah-wah-nee  smiled  upon  a  maiden  of 
the  Mo-no  tribe.  He  saw  upon  her  face  and  hands  signs 

[118] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

of  the  recent  application  of  pitch  and  ashes,  that  she 
had  put  there  as  a  sign  of  mourning  for  the  death  of  her 
sweetheart,  a  Mo-no  brave.  But,  she  was  young  and  fair, 
and  the  Ah-wah-nee-chee  made  every  effort  to  win  some 
response  to  his  ardent  wooing,  but  her  heart  was  still 
sad  with  longing  for  her  dead  lover,  and  his  advances 
brought  no  answering  smile  to  her  face.  When  the  Mo-nos 
returned  across  the  mountains  to  their  home  on  the  shores 
of  Mo-no  Lake,  the  maiden  went  with  them. 

After  the  maiden  had  gone  the  young  Ah-wah-nee-chee 
was  broken-hearted,  and  wandered  about  all  winter, 
disconsolate  and  alone.  But  in  the  spring,  when  the 
flowers  were  blooming  in  Ah-wah-nee,  and  The  Great 
Spirit  had  melted  the  snows  from  the  mountains,  he 
made  his  way  across  to  the  shores  of  Mo-no  Lake,  and 
there,  in  the  dead  of  night,  stole  the  maiden  from  her 
home.  That  the  Mo-no  braves  might  not  track  her  and 
thus  return  her  to  her  people,  he  carried  her  for  a  great 
distance  in  his  arms.  Then  he  put  her  down  and  she 
walked  obediently  before  him  back  to  Ah-wah-nee,  and 
to  the  o-chum  that  he  had  prepared  for  her.  That  she 
might  be  happy  and  content  to  stay  in  her  new  home  he 
had  furnished  the  o-chum  with  the  robes  of  the  grizzly 
bear,  and  the  skins  of  the  deer,  with  beads  and  baskets, 
ornaments  and  shells;  with  everything  dear  to  the  heart 
of  the  Indian  bride. 

Here  for  five  moons  he  guarded  her  closely  and  then, 
thinking  that  she  was  content  to  stay,  he  left  the  o-chum 
to  join  the  men  around  the  campfire,  as  befitted  a  young 

[1191 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

brave.  But,  as  he  sat  listening  respectfully  to  the  words 
of  wisdom  that  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  old  men,  he  was 
seized  with  a  premonition  that  all  was  not  well  with  his 
bride,  and  returned  hastily  to  his  o-chum,  only  to  find 
that  the  maiden  had  fled.  Hot  with  anger  he  gathered 
four  or  five  young  braves  of  his  tribe  and  started  swiftly 
in  pursuit.  As  they  neared  the  top  of  Pi-wy-ack  (Vernal 
Fall)  they  saw  the  maiden  hurrying  up  the  trail.  Increas 
ing  their  speed  they  rushed  toward  her,  whereupon  she 
plunged  into  the  Emerald  Pool  and  struck  bravely  out 
for  the  opposite  shore.  She  soon  reached  the  middle  of 
the  stream,  but  the  rushing  current  was  too  much  for 
her  frail  strength  and  she  was  carried  farther  and  farther 
down  until  the  hurrying  waters  whirled  her  over  the  fall 
and  dashed  her  to  her  death  on  the  rocks  below. 

Thus  did  a  maiden  of  the  Mo-nos  prove  her  devotion 
to  the  memory  of  her  dead  sweetheart,  and  thus  did  the 
angry  waters  of  Pi-wy-ack  deprive  a  young  brave  of  the 
Ah-wah-nee-chees  of  an  unwilling  bride. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  LOI-YA 

Uncounted  flowers  have  blossomed  and  faded,  and 
unnumbered  snows  have  come  and  gone  since  Loi-ya, 
a  beautiful  maiden  of  the  Ah-wah-nee-chees,  and  her 
mother  were  gathering  grass  seeds  in  the  Po-ho-no 
meadow  beyond  the  top  of  the  Valley.  They  had  filled 
their  baskets  and  were  returning  over  the  old  trail 
leading  down  from  Patill-ima  (Glacier  Point),  to  their 
camp  in  the  Valley,  when  Loi-ya,  who  was  ahead  of  her 

[120] 


Tenaya  Canyon,  and  the  Orubangwg  Rock  on  Half  Dome. 
See  page  88. 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

mother,  stumbled  over  a  rock  in  the  trail  and  fell  over 
the  cliff  and  was  never  seen  again.  Her  mother  was  heart 
broken  and  refused  to  come  down  again  to  the  Valley, 
saying  that  she  must  wait  there  for  her  daughter  to 
return.  But  Loi-ya  did  not  come  and  her  mother  waited 
and  waited,  and  while  she  waited  she  grew  old  and  bowed 
with  sorrow.  After  many  long  years  had  passed  and  still 
the  mother  waited,  The  Great  Spirit  took  pity  on  her 
grief  and  turned  her  into  granite.  And  there  in  the  shadow 
of  Sentinel  Rock  she  may  still  be  seen  today,  awaiting 
the  return  of  her  beloved  Loi-ya. 

LEGEND   OF  THE   ORIGIN   OF  THUNDER  AND   LIGHTNING 

Once  upon  a  time  a  mother  deer  took  her  two  fawns 
to  visit  an  old  mother  bear  and  her  cub.  While  they  were 
there  the  two  mothers  went  out  to  pick  berries  and  the 
old  bear  killed  the  mother  deer.  When  she  returned  to  her 
home  the  two  fawns  missed  their  mother,  and  asked 
where  she  was.  The  old  bear  told  them  that  their  mother 
was  all  right,  that  she  was  still  picking  berries,  but  the 
fawns  saw  the  liver  which  the  old  bear  had  brought  back 
with  her,  and  knew  that  she  had  killed  their  mother. 
They  wanted  to  revenge  their  mother's  death,  so  they 
took  the  little  cub  out  to  play  with  them.  Finding  a  big 
hole  in  the  rocks  they  built  a  fire  in  front  of  it.  After  the 
fire  was  burning  good,  they  told  the  little  cub  that  they 
would  play  a  game,  that  they  would  go  into  the  hole  and 
he  could  blow  the  smoke  in  on  them  until  they  told  him 
to  stop,  then  they  would  come  out,  he  could  go  into  the 

[123] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

hole  and  they  would  blow  smoke  in  on  him  until  he  told 
them  to  stop,  and  in  this  way  they  would  find  out  who 
could  withstand  the  most  smoke.  So  the  little  fawns  went 
into  the  hole  and  the  little  cub  blew  the  smoke  in  on  them, 
and  after  a  while  they  told  him  to  stop,  which  he  did, 
and  they  came  out.  Then  the  little  cub  went  into  the 
hole  and  the  little  fawns  blew  the  smoke  in  on  him.  After 
a  while  he  called  out  that  he  had  had  enough,  but  the 
fawns  kept  on  blowing  and  the  cries  of  the  little  cub  grew 
weaker  and  weaker,  finally  ceasing  altogether.  When  the 
little  fawns  quit  blowing  and  looked  into  the  hole  the 
little  cub  was  dead,  so  they  drug  him  out  onto  the  ground. 
Then  they  were  scared,  and  fearing  that  the  mother 
bear  would  find  out  what  they  had  done,  they  ran  away. 
When  the  old  mother  bear  came  out  and  found  her  little 
cub  dead  she  was  very  angry.  She  pursued  the  fawns  and 
they  ran  away  up  to  the  top  of  the  moutain,  where  they 
found  their  grandfather,  who  lived  up  there  among  the 
rocks.  The  fawns  told  him  their  story  and  asked  him 
what  they  were  to  do.  Their  grandfather  heated  some 
rocks  which  they  rolled  down  the  mountain,  and  one  of 
the  rocks  struck  the  old  bear  and  killed  her.  But  the 
fawns  were  still  afraid  that  something  would  happen 
to  them,  and  asked  their  grandfather  to  change  them 
into  something  that  nothing  could  catch  or  harm  them. 
Their  grandfather  made  several  suggestions  which  did 
not  meet  with  their  approval,  until  he  asked  them  if 
they  would  like  to  go  and  live  in  the  sky,  telling  them  that 
up  there  nothing  could  happen  to  them  and  they  would 

[1241 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

be  safe  and  happy.  The  fawns  said  that  they  would  like 
that.  Their  grandfather  told  them  that  he  would  build  a 
fire  and  send  them  up  into  the  sky,  and  that  when  they 
were  high  enough  they  were  to  call  to  him  and  he  would 
stop  them.  After  he  had  built  the  fire,  and  the  little 
fawns  were  dancing  happily  around  it,  they  accidentally 
splashed  some  water  onto  the  fire  and  caused  an  explo 
sion,  which  blew  them  high  into  the  sky,  where  they  and 
their  children  have  lived  ever  since. 

And  the  lightning  is  the  sparks  that  fly  from  their 
feet  when  they  run  over  the  rocks  in  the  sky,  while  the 
sharp,  quick  thunder  is  the  sound  of  the  running  of  the 
smaller  deer,  and  the  heavy  rolling  thunder  that  of  the 
older  and  heavier  deer. 

LEGEND  OF  THE  FISH  WOMEN  (MERMAIDS) 

Long  ago  when  the  Ah-wah-nee-chees  were  a  young 
nation  the  Merced  River  was  the  home  of  the  Fish- 
women  (Mermaids).  These  were  beautiful  creatures, 
having  the  tails  of  fish  and  the  upper  bodies  of  women. 
They  could  not  leave  the  water,  but  would  often  sit  on 
the  rocks  in  the  shallows,  or  around  the  edges  of  the 
deep  pools,  combing  their  long  black  hair,  and  chanting 
luring  songs  to  the  warriors  of  Ah-wah-nee.  But,  charm 
ing  as  they  were,  the  warriors  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  them. 

One  day  while  two  braves  were  fishing  in  the  deep 
pools  of  the  river,  with  a  net  made  of  milkweed  thread, 
the  net  became  tangled  with  the  rocks  on  the  bottom  of 

[125] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

the  pool.  One  of  the  braves  dived  down  to  loosen  it,  and 
the  Fish-women,  darting  out  from  their  hiding  places 
under  the  rocks,  tied  the  threads  of  the  net  to  his  toes, 
and  held  him  under  the  water  until  he  was  drowned. 
Then  they  carried  the  brave  away  to  their  land  beneath 
the  river,  and  neither  he  nor  the  Fish-women  have  ever 
been  seen  since. 


126] 


FINAL  CHAPTER 

^  |  ^HE  verdict  of  every  student  of  the  race  is  that  con- 
-•-  tact  with  the  white  man ;  the  adoption  of  his  cabin 
life  and  manner  of  living,  his  food  and  clothing,  resulted 
in  the  immediate  deterioration  of  the  physical  develop 
ment  of  the  Indian  people. 

Their  ideas  of  cleanliness  and  sanitation  were  extremely 
vague;  in  fact,  they  had  none.  The  white  man's  employ 
ment  of  the  quarantine  as  a  preventive  of  the  spread 
of  contagious  diseases  was  unknown  to  them.  Their 
recognition  of  the  necessity  for  avoidance  of  friends 
afflicted  with  these  diseases  was  on  a  par  with  their 
methods  of  treatment.  Consequently  when  the  white 
man  introduced  his  diseases  among  them  they  died  by 
thousands,  till  their  bleaching  bones  littered  a  thousand 
plains  and  hills. 

The  accumulation  of  filth  was  of  relatively  little 
menace  to  them  as  long  as  they  lived  in  their  o-chums  as 
compared  with  the  menace  it  became  in  later  years  to 
those  who  adopted  the  white  man's  method  of  living  in 
a  cabin.  Then,  they  moved  often  and  left  their  clutter 
behind  them,  pitching  their  o-chum,  or  camp,  on  fresh 

[1271 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

ground;  but  this  accidental  sanitation  did  not  apply  to 
life  in  a  cabin.  Their  ideas  of  ventilation  were  as  vague 
as  their  ideas  on  sanitation.  They  simply  closed  up  the 
windows  and  doors,  fired  up  the  stove  and  camped  there 
until  part  of  the  family  died  of  pneumonia,  others  de 
veloped  consumption  as  an  after  effect  of  weakened 
lungs,  and  they  finally  decided  that  particular  cabin  was 
cursed  by  some  evil  spirit,  and  moved  on  to  another 
where  the  process  was  repeated. 

But  their  deterioration  along  other  lines  kept  pace 
with,  if  it  did  not  exceed,  their  physical  losses.  There  are 
very  few,  if  any,  places  left  where  one  may  see  the 
primitive  arts  of  the  Indians  practiced.  Only  in  museums, 
or  in  the  finest  private  collections,  can  one  find  bits  of  the 
old  workmanship — the  workmanship  of  the  days  before 
the  red  man's  contact  with  the  whites.  Yet  there  was  a 
time  when  these  arts  were  taught  from  childhood,  and 
every  member  of  the  tribe  was  familiar  with  them. 
The  modern  woman  with  all  her  paraphernalia  of  tools 
and  patterns;  of  dyes  and  yarns;  of  flosses  and  cloths, 
cannot  turn  out  one  piece  that  in  beauty  of  design,  fine 
ness  of  execution,  or  grace  of  outline,  excels  any  one  of  a 
dozen  made  by  the  squaw  of  old  who  went  into  the  woods 
and  with  her  bare  hands  gathered  her  own  materials. 

But  the  white  man  came  with  his  tools  and  implements. 
The  bone  awl,  the  deerskin  thong,  and  the  thread  of  the 
milkweed  gave  way  to  the  white  man's  needles  of  steel 
and  his  spools  of  cotton  and  yarn.  The  picturesque  and 
practical  clothing  of  furs  and  skins  was  replaced  by  the 

.[128] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

gaudy  calico  and  denim  of  the  itinerant  trader.  The 
drums  and  flageolots  of  old  gave  way  to  the  newer 
instruments  of  the  whites.  The  beautifully  woven  and 
artistic  cooking  baskets  were  superseded  by  the  bright 
tin  pots  and  pans  of  the  new  race.  The  highly  nutritious 
bread  and  mush  made  from  the  meal  of  the  acorn  was 
forgotten  in  the  novelty  of  the  white  man's  sickly  white 
flour.  Tin  can  heaps  began  to  grow  about  the  camps. 
The  dainty  porcupine-quill  and  shell  beads  were  re 
placed  by  atrocities  fashioned  from  pounds  of  gaudy 
colored  glass.  The  Indian  laid  aside  the  ways  and  customs 
of  his  fathers,  and  his  arts  are  rapidly  disappearing. 

Before  the  coming  of  the  white  man  the  Indian  could 
start  with  nothing  and  make  his  own  implements.  He 
made  his  own  o-chum,  his  own  clothing,  and  shoes, 
fashioned  his  own  weapons  with  which  he  killed  his  meat ; 
his  own  spear,  and  hook  and  line,  with  which  he  caught 
his  fish;  built  his  own  fire;  was  his  own  doctor,  lawyer, 
soldier  and  preacher;  he  was  familiar  with  everything 
that  went  to  make  up  his  daily  life ;  could  perform  every 
operation  necessary  for  his  existence,  every  detail  from 
source  to  completion.  Isn't  there  a  chance  that  he  was 
in  a  way  a  far  broader  man  than  the  civilized  product 
who  lives  his  life  within  the  narrow  confines  of  his  own 
highly  specialized  job  and  registers  but  one  operation 
repeatedly  throughout  his  life? 

It  seems  as  if  the  trouble  with  the  modern  world  is 
that  machinery — the  inhuman  organisms  we  have  in 
vented  to  do  our  work  and  be  our  slaves — has  turned 


[131] 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

upon  us  and  enslaved  us.  The  machine  moves  in  a  deadly 
routine  so  we  must  follow  it.  The  machine  pretends  to 
give  us  something,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  sure  to  take 
something  away.  Freedom,  initiative,  the  strength  of  our 
limbs,  the  power  of  our  thoughts  and  aspirations,  are 
taken  away  from  us  in  factories,  in  trains  and  motor 
cars,  in  offices  and  counting  houses.  Whether  in  war  or 
in  peace  we  find  ourselves  no  longer  free  individuals,  but 
cogs  in  a  vast  machine,  too  big  for  the  comprehension  of 
any  one  man  and  too  powerful  for  any  man  to  fight 
against. 

In  subduing  nature  and  winning  freedom  from  its 
tyranny  of  heat  and  cold  and  famine  and  tempest  and 
space,  we  have  fallen  into  the  power  of  another  tyrant. 
A  gloomy  view,  if  we  were  not  sure  that  it  could  not  last. 
We  are  going  through  a  transition  period,  and  some  day 
will  swing  back  into  the  nomadic  state  again  and  refind 
the  freedom  that  the  caveman  knew.  While  the  lightning, 
the  sun,  the  winds  and  the  swinging  tides,  safely  har 
nessed  and  broken  to  the  bit,  do  our  work  for  us,  we  will 
fare  far  from  the  haunts  of  man — back  where  the  moun 
tains  are  piled  in  a  great  and  picturesque  disorder,  where 
trees  grow  tall  and  straight,  and  streams  run  pure  and 
clean,  gurgling  like  beautiful  dryads  songs — for,  "there 
is  peace  among  the  summits;  purity  in  running  water; 
good  cheer  in  the  crackling  flame;  truth  in  flowers  and 
children;  taunting  lure  in  the  forking  trail;  thought  un- 
graspable  in  the  pouring  of  the  wind;  music  in  the  tree- 
top's  swaying;  freedom  in  the  winging  bird;  grandeur  in 

[132] 


ML  Watkins  and  Mirror  Lake  (Aheweiyah).     See  page  96. 


THE  LORE  AND  THE  LURE  OF  THE  YOSEMITE 

the  drop  of  the  cliffs;  daring  in  the  steepling  crags; 
vastness  on  the  sweeping  plains;  silence  in  the  desert; 
thankfulness  in  the  bubbling  spring;  sweet  rest  in  the 
cooling  shade;  death  in  the  plunge  of  precipice,  in  the 
crash  of  avalanche,  and  in  the  clear  depths  of  the  lake; 
blindness  out  over  the  sparkling  snows;  comradeship  in 
dog  and  horse;  safety  in  the  rifle;  skill  in  the  slender  rod; 
dreams  under  summer  moons;  work  on  the  mountain 
side ;  something  beyond  the  stars ;  glory  in  the  dawn ; 
danger  and  delight  on  every  hand;  sleep  and  forgetful- 
ness  unafraid  on  the  bosom  of  our  mother  earth ;  friend 
ship  everywhere  and  life  serene  in  everything." 

"But,  'when  you  go  to  these  things,  kill  if  you  must  for 
food,  but  not  for  murder;  burn  not  wantonly;  leave  the 
trail  cleaner  for  the  feet  that  follow;  pollute  nothing;  let 
your  words  be  as  clean  as  those  from  the  lips  of  a  good 
woman,  and  as  few  as  those  of  an  Indian ;  let  your  actions 
be  as  soft  and  silent  as  those  of  the  furred  things  around 
you;  be  as  crystal,  clean  within  yourself  as  the  dew  that 
jewels  the  morning  grass.  For  here  is  a  Temple  in  which 
none  need  kneel  against  his  will,  but  in  which  all  can 
stand  upright  and  unashamed.' 

"The  shadow  of  His  hand  is  upon  the  mountains,  the 
hills  grow  dark  beneath  His  palm.  A  straight  trail  and 
fair  weather — the  time  has  come  to  part." 


